Lost in the Digital World
by IcBlue-Dmoness
Summary: ON HOLD. When Tai is attacked by a computer virus and starts turning into something other than human, how will his friends and family react to his transformations and a new threat to the digital world? Taiora.
1. CH 1: Computer Malfunction

Lost in the Digital World 

_By: IcBlue_Dmoness_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon, they belong to companies such as Bandai, WB 50, etc. I wish I did own Digimon though… (BTW, this disclaimer is for every chapter in this fic)

**Ships:** I'm letting the readers decide on the ships for this one…except for Taiora. I'll take a vote and tally them up. IT'S YOUR VOTE! 

**Rating:** PG-13 – "Parents Strongly Cautioned. This story contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children less than 13 years of age. Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in, and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 13 read this story unattended. This story contains one or more of the following: **intense violence, intense sexual situations, strong coarse language, or intensely suggestive dialogue."**

**Summary:** **Post season 2** He was standing in a pool of his own blood… "Tai! NOO!!… His eyes glowed red, a pain shooting out from beneath his shoulder blades… He caught her lips in a fiery and passionate kiss… "SORA RUN!!"…. 

THIS IS A TAIORA… or well, it will be eventually. 

**This story takes place a year after the 02 digidestined defeated evil and the peace was restored to the digital world. Matt and Sora are still together in the beginning. The digimon are in the real world, staying with their partners, and if they need to go to the Digital World, they can use the computer to get there.**

*** Note: the older digidestined are at the age of 17-18, and the younger ones are 14 yrs.  

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lost in the Digital World (Chapter I): **Computer Malfunction**__

  
Tai walked into his small yet cozy apartment, his soccer bag slugged over his shoulder. Kari was sitting on the couch, watching TV when she saw Tai walk in.  
  
"Hey Tai," Kari said in a mindless tone.  "Mom made some food before she left for Grandmas. If you want to eat it, it's over by the stove," she said, giving a slightly disgusted face at the mention of her mom's cooking.  
  
"No thanks," Tai said, cringing, as he dropped his bag by the table and walked into the kitchen. As he walked in, he saw a wanton display of kitchen utensils spread out over the counter. 

_'Gosh, mom must have been in a rush to go to grandma's,' _thought Tai, as he surveyed the state of the kitchen. He walked to the fridge and got out the things he needed to make himself a sandwich of his liking. After he made it, he took his food, sauntered over to his room and closed the door.  
  
A scream could be heard through the apartment once Tai entered the room.  
  
"AGUMON! Get back here with my sandwich!" screamed Tai, as he heaved the door open and started chasing Agumon around the house. Kari lazily turned around and looked over the top of the couch. She smiled slightly, and then started giggling at the sight in front … err, behind her.  She was happy Tai was back to his normal self.  Ever since Sora "hooked up" with Matt, he had not been his normal, annoying self.  
  
Tai gave up chasing Agumon around the house for his sandwich after a while and fell back on to the couch, landing himself beside his sister.  "What are you watching?" Tai languidly asked. 

"Oh nothing much. Just flipping though the channels. There is nothing worth while to watch," said an exasperated Kari.  
  
Tai chuckled at his baby sister's face. He pulled himself off the couch and made himself another sandwich, this time, eating it before he entered his room again. He walked in while thinking to himself, _'I really should clean up this room.'_ He looked around the room, which was cluttered with clothes and other accessories and found Agumon laying on his bed.  
  
"Hey, buddy.  Do you want to go to the digital world today?" he asked Agumon, knowing fully that the little critter would agree.  
  
"Sure!" Agumon exclaimed, jumping up and down repeatedly on Tai's bed. "When do we go?" Tai chuckled at the hyper- active digimon in his room.  
  
"Hold on. I'd better tell Kari where we're going, otherwise she might freak."  
  
"Ok, but hurry up!" yelled Agumon, watching his human partner go out of the room, to inform Kari.  
  
"Hey Kari, me and Agumon will be going to the digital world," said Tai.  
  
"It's Agumon and I," said Kari, pausing for a second.  Then she continued, "and when do you plan on coming back?"  
  
"Um… do not worry; we will be back before dinnertime… or around dinnertime. But we won't stay over night. Don't worry," Tai repeated, giving her a reassuring smile.  
  
He walked back into his room, and got his digivice out. He turned on his computer, and brought up the portal that connected this world to the digital world. He pointed the digivice at the computer, when all of a sudden he remembered that Izzy forgot to repair some malfunction with his computer.  
  
_*Flashback *  
  
"Hey Izzy, can you come over tomorrow and fix my computer?" asked Tai. "It seems to have a virus in it."  
  
"Ahh… Sure… but it will have to wait for a day. I'll be busy tomorrow, but I can come over day after," the red haired boy explained.  "How's that?"  
  
"That's fine. Thanks Izzy," said Tai, running off towards his apartment complex.  
  
*End of Flashback *_  
  
"Oh no!! I forgot that Izzy's going to come here tomorrow," whispered Tai, getting a dreadful look on his face.  He didn't know what would happen if they got sucked into the computer when there was a virus on it. He didn't even know if they would land up in the digital world itself!  
  
Tai dropped his digivice, unknowingly, and tried to make a grab for Agumon who was already half way through the computer screen.  "Agumon! Waitttt!!" screamed Tai. Unfortunately, Kari couldn't hear a thing because the TV was on a bit too loudly.  
  
Tai tried to grab a hold of Agumon before he ended up somewhere other than the digital world, but it was too late.  

Because of that one false move, Tai was sucked in as well, his digivice still lying on the ground where he dropped it. 

"KARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!" Tai screamed out, trying to get the little girl's attention off from the TV to where he was, but to no avail. She didn't hear him calling and he got sucked into the computer to who knows where…  
  
A pair of chocolate brown eyes slowly opened and immediately closed because of the sun. A brown haired boy slowly sat up on a sandy beach, wondering where he was.

"Agumon?" the brown haired boy asked. He surveyed the area around him, but couldn't find what he was looking for. "AGUMON! WHERE ARE YOU????" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs, but he didn't get a response back.  "AGUMON!!" Tai moaned out, falling to his knees.    
  
Tai slowly turned his head and looked around the place to find where he was, but couldn't make out anything.  This place was unfamiliar to his eyes.  Then all of a sudden, a roar was heard vibrating from one end of the beach that he landed on.  
  
Tai turned and looked to where the source of the sound was.  All Tai saw was a gigantic Monochromon running towards him. His eyes got as big as two dinner plates as he scrambled back onto his feet, turned around and took off running in the direction of a forest that was near by.  Tai was about a yard from the forest when he realized he had to slow the digimon somehow before he got trampled over by it.  He picked a stick off the sandy ground and waited patiently for the rampaging Monochromon.  

Twenty feet… Ten feet… five feet… 

Tai screwed his eyes closed and attacked the Monochromon mindlessly.  Tai got a lucky shot and when he opened his eyes once again, he realized he had stuck the stick in the attacking Monochromon's shoulder.  He was thankful that the stick was strong enough to last that long.  
  
The Monochromon roared in pain. It pulled the stick out with its mouth, and threw the blood stained stick back at Tai. Tai barely got enough time to dodge the stick and start running before the digimon was after him again. 

Tai ran into the forest saw some trees that were placed closely together.  '_Maybe…_' Tai took a quick glance behind him and approximated the size of the attacking Monochromon.  He turned back around and perused the distance between the two tree trunks and realized it was just big enough for two people to slip through side by side, but was not big enough for a Monochromon to get through.  Tai nodded to himself and ran in-between the two trees.  Fortunately the Monochromon was stupid enough to follow Tai into the forest and ended up getting stuck between the two trees that Tai ran in between. 

The Monochromon gave a loud roar again, this time loud enough so that it would alert the other Monochromon in that vicinity.  Tai felt the ground shake beneath him because of the reverberating roar.  

Soon Tai could hear the roars of the neighboring Monochromon and he decided it was time to take off and find another route out of the forest.  He turned back to the Monochromon that was stuck between the trees and stuck his tongue out at the beast, teasing him.  
  
Tai turned around and decided to leave before the Monochromon untangled himself and started coming after him again.  Tai started walking away from the Monochromon, finally catching sight of an opening leading out of the forest, when he saw another Monochromon heading his way.  
  
_'Uh oh. This is not good…'_ thought Tai as he started backing up from the latter of the two beasts. He felt something breathing down his back and turned to his right, to look at what it was. When he turned around, all he found was gapping jaws that were ready to eat him at any moment.  Unfortunately, Tai was too preoccupied with the Monochromon stuck between the trees and forgot about the one in front of him.  
  
_'I have one Monochromon behind me, and the other one still advancing here. I think I better run,' _he thought as he prepared to run out from the forest. Suddenly, Tai felt a searing pain shoot up through his left arm. He turned around at a neck breaking speed, only to find that the latter of the Monochromon had come and grabbed his arm in its mouth.  
  
"AHHHHH!!" screamed Tai, as he tried to get his arm out of the monsters mouth. _'I guess it's lunch time for them,'_ Tai thought with narrowed eyes as he made a grab for anything sharp that was near by without pulling his arm off. He got a hold of a stick and stuck it in the Monochromon's mouth vertically, so that one end of the stick was poking at the roof and the other end was in the bottom end of the beast's mouth.  Slowly taking his arm out, Tai replaced the sick for his arm that was in the Monochromon's mouth. Tai made a dash for the edge of the forest, leaving the two vicious beasts in his wake. He slowed down once he made it through to the other side, stopping to catch his breath.  
  
Tai looked at the condition of his arm. The sleeve was torn off, and blood was dripping off of his arm, slowly trailing down his hand to the dirt ground below.  He tried to move his arm, but he couldn't feel it and he was loosing blood at an astonishingly fast rate. Tai could feel himself getting dizzier by the moment.  He ripped the sleeve of his other arm with his mouth, and rapped the wound with the shirt sleeve, making a makeshift sling.  
  
"Hopefully that should stop the blood," Tai muttered to himself as he got up and looked around, figuring out where to go next.  
  
"Maybe, if I landed in the digiworld, then Agumon must be here too," Tai said, thinking aloud. _'If I use my digivice I can track down where he is,'_ thought Tai, as he reached into his pocket to try and find the little piece of technology that connected the digital world to the real world. Tai's eyes widened as his search became more frantic, trying to look for the digivice.  
  
_'Where did it go? I know I put it in my pocket...I think...'_ Tai searched all of his pockets but couldn't find it. _'Oh no! I remember now... it fell from my hands when I went to grab Agumon. Great...' he thought, with narrowed eyes. 'Just great!' _Tai kicked some sand away from his feet, in anger and frustration.  
  
_'I don't even have my cell, or anything with me, to call Kari or someone.'_ Tai continued walking, trying to find someway to get back into the real world.  
  
Unfortunately, Tai didn't see where he was walking and ended up getting caught in some quicksand. Tai's eyes narrowed as he thought bitterly, _'This is just not my day...'_  
  
He tried to grab a hold of something near by that he could use to pull himself out of the sand that was taking him down pretty quickly.  He finally found a vine that was near by and tried to reach for it. Once he got it, he tried to move his left arm to get a better hold on the vine, but he forgot that it was in pretty bad shape. He let out a light scream as a jolt of pain shot through his arm because of the abrupt movements. 

His arm was still in no condition to move so he gritted his teeth and used his right arm to pull himself out of the quick sand. Once he got out, with great difficulty (since he had to pull himself out with only one arm, and the sand was pulling him in), he took a breather and look at the condition of his arm. The shirt sleeve was now soaked in blood again and he still couldn't feel his arm.  
  
_'This is bad. If I don't get this arm healed or something, I don't know what will happen to it,' _thought Tai, worry etched on his face as he got up and wandered away from the quick sand and the forest.  
  
"AGUMON!! Where are you!?" screamed Tai, slowly falling to his knees and breathing heavily. All the running and exercise that he got ever since he arrived in the digital world started to take a toll on him and he was finally feeling the after affects of the excursions.  Then he heard a buzzing noise coming from some where near by.  He turned his head towards the sound, only to see...  
  
****back in the real world****  
  
Kari was still watching TV, since she finally found a show that was intriguing enough for her to watch.  It was around dinnertime when the show finally finished and Kari slowly stood up and stretched her aching body.  She walked into the kitchen and grimaced in realization that she would have to eat out tonight.  

_'Ugh… great, mom left the kitchen a mess, went to grandmas, and dad is out of town on a business trip. That just leaves Tai and I to clean it up. Guess mom was in a real rush to go to grandmas. I wonder why…'  _Instinctively she called out to her brother, preparing to ask him where he wanted to go out for dinner.  When she got no response back, she finally realized that Tai still wasn't home. _'He said he would be home by now,' _Kari remembered as she walked out of the kitchen and into his room.   
   
Just as she was about to place a foot into Tai's room, the phone rang, startling Kari.  She turned around and reached for the phone.  
  
"Hello, Kari Kamiya speaking."  
  
"Hey Kari, this is Sora. Is Taichi there?"  
  
"Oh, hey Sora. No Tai's not here, he went to the digital world."  
  
"But didn't Tai say something about getting his computer fixed by Izzy tomorrow? I remember him telling me that sometime yesterday."   
  
Kari's eyes widened as the realization hit her. "Oh my god! Tai used his computer to go to the digital world and there's a virus on it!!" Kari said, worry seeping into her voice.  
  
"Kari, don't panic. I'm sure Tai didn't become virus food or something… hopefully. He has his digivice with him, right? We can go to the digital world, and if he's there we can track him down," said Sora in a calm and collected voice, trying to get the younger girl to calm down.  
  
"Yea, that's true. Hold on a minute," said Kari.  She placed the phone beside the cradle and walked into Tai's room to get Gatomon, who silently crept into the room a few minutes ago.  Kari gasped as she saw Tai's digivice on the floor beside the computer, and Tai, nowhere to be seen.  
  
She ran back out into the hallway and picked up the phone, with Gatomon in her other hand.  
  
"Sora! Tai must have dropped his digivice when he was sucked into the portal, cause I found it on the floor beside his computer just now!" screamed Kari.  
  
"Oh god," Kari could hear Sora whisper.  "Ok Kari. Come over right now and we'll go to the digital world, from here," said Sora, starting to panic a bit, but trying not to show it.  
  
"Alright, I'm on my way." Kari replaced the phone back onto the cradle and ran to her room to grab a sweater from her closet.  Once she donned the sweater, she ran back to the front door, Gatomon hot on her trail.   She slipped her shoes on and ran out the door.  

"Where are we going?" asked Gatomon. 

"I'll explain everything when we get to Sora's," said Kari as she grabbed the digimon and broke out into a sprint towards Sora's apartment complex.  
  
As Kari was running towards the apartment complex, she bumped into someone, and landed hard on the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry," mumbled Kari as she looked up. When she did, she let out a soft gasp upon seeing whom she bumped into.


	2. CH 2: Blood, blood and more BLOOD!

  
  


_Lost in the Digital World: **Blood, blood and more BLOOD!**_

_By: TaioraCrazedGirl_

****Now time for a commercial break**

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*~*~*~

  
"Where are we going?" said Gatomon. "I'll explain everything when we get to Sora's." said Kari as she grabbed the digimon and ran out the apartment door towards Sora's apartment complex.  
  
As Kari was running towards the apartment complex, she bumped into someone, and landed on the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry." Mumbled Kari as she looked up. When she did, she let out a soft gasp, upon seeing whom she bumped into.

Kari looked up and saw a pair of blue eyes stare back at her. "Hey Kari…sorry about that…" Matt said, with a sheepish look on his face. "Where you headed to in such a rush?" He asked, getting a suspicious look onto his face.

"I'm headed over to Sora's house," Kari replied, dusting herself off after getting up from the ground.

"Oh really? Cause I'm just coming from there. I went over to see Sora and she sent me away just now telling me she had something urgent to do." Matt said, his eyes narrowing towards Kari. "This wouldn't happen to have you involved in any way does it?" 

"Um…I have no clue what your talking about Matt. I'm just going over to her house to pick up something of mine that I left a week or so ago …" she replied, taking a step backwards, clearly indicating she wanted to leave. 

She did not want to alert all the digidestined about Tai's absence incase this was a false alarm and Tai just forgot to call her and had no way back to the real world. 

"Oh, alright…then I'll see you around Kari." Matt said walking away. Kari let out a sigh of relief and ran all the way to Sora's apartment till she reached the door. Kari caught her breath when she stopped and rang the doorbell. She waited patiently for a few seconds, and then the door opened to reveal an auburn haired girl with a blood red shirt and short, black skirt on.

"Hi Kari!" Sora said as she grabbed the younger girl into a hug. 

"Hey Sora." Kari replied with an urgent tone in her voice. Sora gave a small smile and led Kari to the computer in her room. 

"Now let's go rescue Tai shall we?" Sora asked, as she pointed her digivice towards the computer. She turned around and asked Kari if she had Tai's digivice with her, and she got a nod in response. "Alright then," Sora said, as both girls got sucked into the portal that led to the digital world. 

~*~*~*

Tai heard a buzzing sound right above his ear, and turned around at an astonishingly fast pace. He was afraid that there would be another bug digimon near him wanting to have him as its dinner. Unfortunately for Tai, he turned around and saw two big pincers trying to cut off his head. He gave a loud scream, jumped up, and started running again. 

_'When will this torment end??? Is there someone out there trying to get revenge on me or something? I haven't picked on anyone recently! I didn't do anything wrong!' _ Tai thought, desperately trying to find a reason as to why all these things were happening to him.

He found a cave near by and ran towards it. It was dry and clean enough, and hoping there were no other digimon inside the cave, Tai ran into it just in time to prevent being caught in the attacking digimon's pincers. He breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground beneath him catching his breath. 

"Why me???" Tai screamed saturating the cave with his deep, masculine voice. Unfortunately or fortunately, no one was there to hear his ranting. 

His arm started pulsing with pain again, and he glanced down at it. He saw the makeshift sling he made was dripping with excess blood and now did no good to stop the blood from flowing out of the wound. He took the blood soaked sleeve off the wound and hissed in pain when fresh air finally made contact with his wound. 

He unbuttoned his shirt, tore a long piece off from the bottom of his shirt, and wrapped it tightly around his upper left arm where the wound was. His whole arm was still numb and the wound and his exertions were finally taking a toll on his body. 

He rested his head and back against the wall of the cave, and the bug digimon, finally deciding on giving some room to Tai, left. Tai's eyelids weighed a ton as they desperately tried to overpower his brain and tried to close over his eyes. He finally succumbed to their wishes, closing his eyes, hoping someone would find him soon. 

After a good ten minutes of rest, he heard another buzzing sound, this time inside the cave that he occupied. Tai's eyes shot open as he glanced around the darkening cave, eyes narrowing, trying to see who the intruder was. 

Tai gave a sigh of relief as he gazed upon a small, pink fur ball known as Pixiemon. 

"Pixiemon! Try not to scare me like that!" Tai cried out placing his right hand over his heart for effect. 

"We have to get out of here now before any other digimon try to attack!" Pixiemon screamed, as he pulled on what was left of Tai's shirt, trying to get him to stand up. 

"Where are we going?" Tai wheezed out chasing the pink ball through the forest to safer grounds. 

"We are going find Geni and get you help. He will have the utensils to fix you up." Pixiemon shouted behind his shoulder. 

Unfortunately Tai had to face more danger before he got to Geni's house.

Unbeknown to both Pixiemon and Tai, a digimon crept up behind both and it's claws extended out from what you might call its hands. Pixiemon was too far ahead of Tai to take notice of the hidden digimon. Tai's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and curiosity as he felt a weird sensation pick at the back of his mind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, giving him a prickly sensation shooting down his spine. He turned around having a feeling that someone was staring at him. 

Tai looked around back of him, but seeing nothing, he turned around again and continued walking. The undetected digimon's cold gaze kept in line with every step Tai took. The digimon had watched Tai's every move ever since he arrived back into the digital world. 

_'When a pathetic human is at his weakest, that is the time to attack.'_ The digimon thought, as a ball of dark energy formed in the palm of his hand. He let the power build up till it was twice the size of his hand and he slinked back farther into the darkness that the forest behind him provided. 

Tai was now pacing at a walk behind Pixiemon. The sensation that someone was watching him slowly faded as everything around him went back to normal, his brain not flashing red anymore. 

The digimon let loose the energy ball, letting it fly towards the "pathetic human". The blast hit Tai square in the back, tearing through his shirt, making a gaping hole through his skin. 

His eyes flew open as his body was thrown into the air, then with a sickening thud, landing onto the ground in front of Pixiemon. 

Pixiemon stopped in shock when he saw Tai's body land in front of him. The little digimon's eyes widened in shock as he turned around and flew, as fast as his little body allowed, back towards where he thought the blast came from. 

The pink "fur ball with wings" flew over and between the trees, surveying the land placed in front of him with a critical eye. He did not find the source of the blast and decided to return to Tai before it was too late. 

Tai could not feel an inch of his body at the moment. When Pixiemon returned to his side, and asked how he was, Tai could not answer back, his throat too parched and constricted to talk. 

He tried to move, and with great difficulty, found that he could move his right arm and left leg. He felt the cool air brush up against his back and a liquid substance touch his slender fingers. 

His wound on his upper left arm reopened, blood gushing out of it again. 

His right hand picked up some of the liquid that had flowed into his hand, and he had enough strength to bring his hand to his face to stare at the liquid in his hand. When he saw that it was his own blood, his head started spinning, his body threatening to faint on him. 

His eyes started closing as he felt his world spin, and his vision blur slightly. He put his whole weight on his right arm and left knee, hauling himself up off the ground. He saw what was left of his shirt on the ground beneath him and the blood covering his pants. 

With Pixiemon's encouragement, he stood up again and took a step or two forward. He glanced down and saw the blood pool around his legs; his shoes getting covered in the bright red liquid. 

He lifted a foot and placed it in front of him and saw his shoe imprint left in his blood. He grimaced at the sight and stepped out from the puddle of blood that was continuously growing. He tried to make out what happened to him and realized that he could not feel any part of his back and he had burns all over his body. 

Tai then followed Pixiemon again and walked on for about another minute or so. The blood was still flowing freely out his body as he slowly limped towards Geni's house. 

Tai and Pixiemon finally arrived at their destination, Geni's home…. well, outside of where his home is located. The water parted just like Tai remembered and the two of them slowly made it down (as fast as Tai's body allowed him to) the steps towards the mansion that loomed ahead of them. The water closed back around them and they finally arrived at the front door of Geni's home. 

"Hello digidestined of Courage. I've been expecting you for quite some time." The old man-like digimon said. Tai just blinked in response, truly confused by the digimon's words. "Come in, come in… it looks like you have gotten yourself in quite a fix…" Geni said, leading Tai into a room full of machines. 

Tai moaned in pain as he dropped his body into one of the beds in front of him. Geni rolled Tai onto his chest and started placing various materials onto a table near by. That was all Tai could remember before he blacked out falling into an unconscious state. 

*~*~*~

Kari and Sora arrived in the digital world and found themselves covered in dust and sand as they realized they landed near Infinity Mountain on File Island. They immediately dusted themselves off and with their digimon at their side, all four of them headed off to look for Tai. Kari and Sora called out to Tai various times, all attempts futile. Biyomon digivolved to Birdramon and soared into the sky trying to get an aerial view on the situation. But the bird digimon could not spot agumon or Tai and came back to Sora's side. 

The two girls continued on, stopping random digimon who they knew were friendly, and asking them if they had seen Tai or Agumon. None of them had seen either of them as of lately. Both girls stumbled on, getting tired as the night progressed forward. They found a shelter to rest in for the night, and took refuge in it. 

They got up early morning and continued their search without breakfast. The digimon went to look for any scraps of food available to bring back for themselves and their human partners. 

When the two digimon were gone scurrying for food, Kari tripped over something, only to have Sora catch her in the knick of time. Kari turned around and glanced back to see what it was that she tripped over, and found out that it was a monitor of some kind. 

Sora kneeled down and picked up the dusty monitor, setting it up- right again. There was an on button to the side of the monitor and Sora pressed it, jumping back slightly when the monitor came to life with a loud 'hum'. 

Geni's face appears on the screen of the monitor and he starts talking. "Hello digidestined. I am glad you have found this message. I was hoping that this message would reach you safely. This is a voice recording and unfortunately I do not have time to talk with you all face to face at this moment. I am here to inform you that the digidestined of Courage is in terrible shape as it is now, and he is safe with me at the moment. Please come as soon as you get this message. Farewell, and good luck." 

The message faded away and the monitor turned blank again. Kari, who was shocked beyond words turned towards Sora, her mouth agape and eyes wide with horror. 

Without a word, Sora pulled Kari up by the shoulders and took out her digivice. She pointed it at Biyomon and the friendly digimon transformed into a massive bird once again. Sora lifted the now voiceless Kari onto the bird's leg, climbing on beside her. Gatomon jumped onto the other leg and Birdramon lifted off the ground. 

The two girls and digimon raced to the Continent of Server eager to be reunited with their old leader. 

  
*******

(chapter written: 11/12/03)

  
  
What did you all think about this chapter? Well, I hope u enjoyed this chapter and I hope it wasn't too bloody for you all. I thought it wasn't but then again I'm the author…hah. I'm sorry for the long 6 month wait for this chapter… it won't happen again…at least if I can help it! My brain took a vacation for a bit, so it took some time to track it down and force it to think up the next part of this story! ^_^ Don't forget to review!! Au Revoir! 

*******


	3. CH 3: A Fast Recovery

_Lost in the Digital World: **A Fast Recovery**_

_By: TaioraCrazedGirl_

****Now time for a commercial break**

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This commercial has been brought to you by, the one and only, Barairo Elf… And now back to the regularly scheduled program…

*~*~*~

Without a word, Sora pulled Kari up by the shoulders and took out her digivice. She pointed it at Biyomon and the friendly digimon transformed into a massive bird once again. Sora lifted the now voiceless Kari onto the bird's leg, climbing on beside her. Gatomon jumped onto the other leg and Birdramon lifted off the ground. 

The two girls and digimon raced to the Continent of Server eager to be reunited with their old leader. 

Once they reached the lake the girls got off Birdramon very quickly and rushed towards the stairs that led down to Gennai's home. "Oh god, Tai, please be ok!!" Sora whispered underneath her breath as she raced down the flight of stone steps once the water parted aside for the girls. 

Kari pounded her fists against the wooden door until it opened under the sheer force that she applied. Sora and Kari ran into the warm and cozy home with their digimon hot on their trails. They saw Gennai standing in the middle of the hallway in mid stride. "Oh!" he started. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I was just about to open the door," he said, leading them to the room where Tai was. He knew they were not there for small idle talk and led them on without saying anything more. 

Sora entered the room first with the warning, from Gennai, that it would be a very bloody sight. Sora did not want Kari to see anything that would make her go into an emotional spiral leading to hell. (A/N: so I was in a bad mood when I typed the first part of it…)

Once Sora stepped through the threshold, she gasped at the sight in front of her and her hand immediately flew to cover her mouth. Her eyes watered a bit as she commanded her legs to walk forward towards the now blood covered bed. 

She took a good look at Tai's condition and saw the sheets piled around his waist, his bare back exposed to the air. She could see some of his internal organs because the blast peeled off some of his skin. Luckily none of the major organs had been hit. Sora saw the burns all over his body and the now slowly healing arm and leg. 

There was some kind of machine- that she had never seen on Earth- hooked up to his arm; a needle could be seen thorough his skin. 

She took a deep breath and gulped down her fear and the tears that threatened to spill over the edge of her eyes. She took her shaking hand and ran it through his chocolate brown hair desperately hoping he would be ok and get through this. 

She saw pieces of his skin come back, but there was still a long way to go for him to be back to normal. She knitted her eyebrows in curiosity and walked back out to ask Gennai what was going on. 

She walked out of the room and closed the room door behind her. She walked up to Gennai and asked what was going on with Tai. Kari tried to get past her by sneaking in, but Sora caught her and stopped her with a glare and a hand outstretched in front of the younger girl. 

"Gennai, tell me now. What was that thing Tai was hooked up to?" She asked, her eyes narrowed. 

"It's called a revitalizing unit." Sora raised one eyebrow at him. 

"I know it's not a very original name, but it works!" 

"How does it work?" Sora pressed on.

"Since in the digital world everything is made of data, the machine pieces the data back together again, just like you and the rest of the digidestined did when you faced off with –"

"Can I go in there and see how _my brother_ is?" Kari interrupted in a slightly annoyed tone. She was anxious to see her brother but neither Sora nor Geni let her in the room. 

"No Kari. I think it's best if you don't go in there…" Sora started, tears coming back to her eyes. "It's not a pleasant sight, and I don't think you can handle it right now."

"What are you talking about? You went in there and you're perfectly fine! I can handle any thing you can and maybe even more! And I'm going in there…. Don't try to stop me!" Kari screamed, pushing Sora's hand aside, strutting towards the door. 

Sora's eyes widened and she grabbed the other girl by the waist pulling her back from the door.

"_What- do- you- think- you- are- doing- Sora?!"_ Kari said in a seething tone. 

"Kari listen to me!" she said grabbing the younger girl by the shoulders, making her face her. "Listen! I am trying to protect you here. And I know how badly you want to see your brother! But I also know that if you go in there-" Sora broke off, her voice cracking. Tears threatened to spill as she blinked them back furiously. But one lone tear slid down her cheek as she hastily swiped at it. 

She closed her eyes trying to calm herself. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes still closed, she felt two slender arms wrap around her waist, and she cracked her eyes open a bit. 

"Kari…" Sora trailed off, taking the comfort the younger girl offered. She hugged Kari back fiercely. "Wait till he's better. Then you can see him." She said in a commanding voice. 

"Ahem…" Gennai started, clearing his throat, to get their attention. Once their attention was on the old digimon, he continued. "Like I was saying before, the unit Taichi is hooked up to works very well. I can say that from experience." 

The two girls just blinked in response. "Well the digi world sure has changed from the last time we were here…" Sora trailed off. 

"I say, he will be better in a few weeks at the least. It might take him a whole month to recover fully I suspect. Those were extremely deep cuts and bruises he had. He should be back to normal in about a week or so, but for him to function like he used to, it might take him another two weeks after his recovery." Sora knew what he meant by that, but Kari did not. "Now follow me, and I shall lead both of you to your respective rooms for the night. I assume you would like to stay for the night and check up on your friend tomorrow." He said looking pointedly at Sora. 

"Yes that would be nice." Biyomon flew over to where Sora was and landed in her arms. Gennai started walking, the two girls following behind him. The five of them, digimon included, walked up a flight of stairs, turned the corner, and stopped in front of two rooms placed side by side. 

"Sora, this will be your room for the rest of your stay." Gennai said, pushing the first door open. It revealed a spacey room filled with a soft scent of rose petals. The room had two big windows, on the wall across from the door, which went from the ceiling to the floor, with blood red- with a tinge of orange in it- draperies covering them. There was a bed on the left- sidewall covered silk red sheets and pillow covers that were cleanly made and pressed. 

Sora looked at the room before her with awe. She walked over to the bed and placed Biyomon on top. "Wow… Gennai, thank you." She said, turning around to face him.

The digimon had a smile playing on his lips and he said, "Shall we go and see Kari's room now?" Sora nodded in response. 

Sora was about to walk out the door when something caught her eye. She saw a dresser against the right side of the room (if you're standing at the door, looking into the room), with a variety of things on the table top. But that's not what caught her eye. She took a quick glance at it and thought she saw something like a half moon on it. _'I'll have to take a look at that dresser when I come back in._' she thought as she followed the other three to the room beside hers. 

In Kari's room, once the door was open, Gatomon rushed in and immediately sat on top of the bed that was on the wall to the right. It was draped with a light pinkish-white bed sheet, and same color pillows. Across the room, she too had windows but her windows were a size smaller than Sora's. They were covered in huge draperies, but they were a combination of three colors: yellow, pink and white. Only if one was looking close enough, could they tell the different colors, but from afar, it just looked like a mix of the three. Kari's room, like Sora's, had a dresser, but it was located between the two towering windows. Not against the wall across from the bed. 

"Wow…" Kari whispered. "You two should get some sleep. I bet it's been a very long day for the both of you. I will be downstairs if you two need anything. Have a good night." Gennai said, walking out of Kari's room. Both girls said good night to him.

"Kari, sleep well ok? I don't want you being troubled about your brother all night. He'll be fine ok?" Sora said giving a sad smile to her younger friend. Kari nodded her head and sniffed a bit. Sora pulled the younger girl into a hug and then let her go. "Kari don't worry. I'll let you see your brother in a few days. Right now, I don't think you can handle the sight he is in." 

"I understand. Alright then. Good night Sora." Kari said leading Sora towards the door. 

"Good night Kari," Sora whispered, wishing there was something more she could do to ease the younger one's pain. They went to their respective rooms to catch up on the sleep that they desperately needed. Unfortunately Sora forgot about the dresser problem that she had because she had too much on her plate for the night. 

The next morning, the girls woke up at the crack of dawn and went downstairs to meet Gennai. Both suspected that the other could not sleep because of the previous day's events. Gennai served breakfast for the both of them and while Kari was eating, Sora slipped by and went to the room Tai was located in. A part of her did not want to see the sight of Tai like that again, but another part of her wanted to desperately see if he was doing any better than the day before. She went with the latter half and walked into the room. A strong feeling of nausea hit her when the stench of blood hit her nose. She made a face, but walked farther into the room despite the smell. 

She saw that the sheets Tai was laying on were changed some how, and that he was lying on neatly pressed sheets. But the sheets had a light red stain where Tai was laying. She looked closer and saw that he was still bleeding. Her eyes widened and glossed over with tears. 

"Oh Taichi…." She whispered, her voice cracking. She looked over his back, and saw three- fourths of the ripped skin was mended back together again. _'It will probably take another few days for all his wounds to be healed completely I suspect._' She took notice of the wound in his arm and the skin that was rapidly replacing the old, worn skin. She sighed and walked out of the room, knowing there was nothing she could do at this moment.

Sora came back to the table and ate her breakfast in silence. "So how is he?" a small voice asked her. Kari, Gatomon, and Biyomon all looked at her with wide, curious eyes. Sora sighed once again and closed her eyes. 

"He's much better, but still in terrible shape." She said tersely. "I suspect he will be unconscious for the next week or so. Am I right in assuming that Gennai?" Sora asked the elder digimon. He nodded.

"What can we do in the mean time?" Kari asked, a bored look fluttering over her features. 

"Hum…" Sora started, but abruptly stopped when a beeping noise interrupted her. She pulled something out from her back pocket and Kari immediately recognized it as a d-terminal. Sora opened it and saw she had an email from Matt. 

_Hey Sor, _

_ Where did you disappear to? I came to your house today and your mother said you didn't come back home yesterday night. I'm a little worried frankly. But I have faith you'll come back alive from wherever you are. Just wanted to let you know that your mother is a bit worried about you as well. And Tai's been missing for a while it seems. I went over to his house after I left yours yesterday, and he wasn't there. I checked this morning too. By any chance did you run away with him??? Haha. I'm only joking Sora. Well where ever you are, have fun, and make sure you come back before night fall!_

_ Love, _

_ Matt_

After she finished reading his email, a soft smile played at her lips, her eyes shining with fondness. _'That was sweet, but I can't return just yet. At least not until Tai's well and walking.'_ She thought with a determined look on her face. She emailed her mother with an excuse as to where she was and turned towards Kari. "Hey Kari? Should I tell the other digidestined about Tai?" she asked, her voice cracking when she said 'Tai'. 

Kari shook her head sideways. "No, not yet at least. I don't want them worrying over Tai when he's getting better already. You yourself said that he's on the road to recovery." Sora nodded. 

She walked over to Gennai's humongous fish tank and just stared at the pure, yet very simple life that they had. _'I wish our lives were like that… but then again, we'd have to run for our lives every time we see a fish hook…'_ Sora thought, shaking her head, a smile on her lips. 

Then all of a sudden, she remembered about the dresser and what happened yesterday night. She turned around, ran towards the stairs and took them two by two to get to her room faster. She slid around the left corner and burst into her room. Falling to her knees, she took one very long and good look at the symbol carved into the dresser. It was her symbol of love, yet there was an orange circle carved around it. She blinked at it, trying to figure out its message. She frowned and slowly made her way back down stairs. She was expecting something more.

~*~*~*

Later that night- dinnertime in the digital world. 

Kari came downstairs, her stomach grumbling. She saw Sora sitting in a chair typing away on her d-terminal in the softly glowing light from the kitchen. "Hey Sora," Kari said, taking a seat beside the auburn haired girl. Sora turned and smiled at the young girl. Kari's stomach grumbled once again. Sora gave a soft chuckle and stood up. 

"Come on. We'll go back to my house, get a bite to eat, and come back here. How's that?" Kari gave a smile that lighted up her whole face. Sora called out to Gennai and he appeared immediately. "Do you have a computer around here that we can use to get back to my house?" Gennai nodded and showed them where the computer was located. The two girls walked over to the computer and pointed their digivice at the screen. 

They felt a something tug on them as they were pulled into the portal, landing back in Sora's apartment. 

Once inside the small and cozy apartment, Sora walked out from her room, heading towards the kitchen. It was around midday, close to the afternoon, and Sora knew her mother would not be home at this time. Kari followed Sora to the kitchen and asked her where her mom was. "She's probably at the flower shop seeing it's not evening yet, she would be working right now." Sora grabbed a bag that was lying on the kitchen counter and filled it with some sandwiches that were already made and some nonperishable foods that she could cook in the digital world. "Let's get back now. We'll eat it over there." Sora said. 

Before they left, she scribbled a note to her mom, thanking her for the food and stating she'll be back in a few days, and left it on the counter. They returned back to the digital world and had their dinner of sandwiches. Once done, Sora got up from the table. "I'm going to check on Tai again. Just to make sure he's ok." She walked back into the room that he was located in; it was the room across the kitchen. She walked in and sat down on a chair near the head of the bed. She took a long look at him, and realized all his skin was back to normal, and that he was gaining some color back into his face. He had no wound left open, and she could see a bit of movement in his fingers that rested against the bed. 

Her eyes widened in shock. _'How… how… no one can recover that fast!'_ She thought, sitting there in shock. His face was facing Sora, but he was still unconscious, or so she thought. She gave a startled jump when she heard a soft moan come out of the boy's mouth. "Tai," she whispered, grabbing hold of the boy's hand. "Tai, come on, wake up. We need you back here with us!" She cried out desperately. Sora finally felt the grip on her hand get tighter, meaning that Tai was out of his coma. She looked toward his face and saw his eyes open a crack, and stare out into space. She smiled and gently touched the side of his face with her other hand. "Tai, come on…. stay with me…" 

She heard him murmur out something. "Sora…." It was very quiet, but it could be heard. 

"How bout I roll you over?" she said letting go of his hand. She pushed him gently so that he would be lying on his back. The sheets around his waist rode a bit lower, and when she took notice, Sora blushed furiously, pulling the bed sheet back up to his chest. She also noticed that the wound in his leg was fully healed, and the bed sheet was not stained with blood this time. "I'll be back," she started, taking a step or two towards the door. But before she could move any further, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. She let out a soft gasp and turned around towards Tai. 

"Don't go… please…" He whimpered, a desperate look on his face. She smiled back at him. 

"Don't worry, I'll come back. I'm just going to get Kari and Gennai." Tai let her go, and she ran out of the room looking of Gennai and Kari. Once she found them, she rushed them back into the room. Kari was the first one back in, and she ran towards her brother, weeping loudly. 

"Oh Tai!!" she wailed, wrapping her arms around her brother. She didn't let go in fear of loosing him. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her the best hug he could give her laying down. Sora gently pried the weeping girl out of Tai's arms and seated her in the chair that Sora was previously sitting in. 

"Gennai, how did Tai recover so fast? I mean, is it even possible to recover that fast with this type of machine?" Sora asked Gennai. 

He had a thoughtful look on his face and then turned to Sora with his answer. "I'm not really sure about that Sora. I will have to look into it. He should have been out for another week or so before he recovered fully. And it's truly amazing that he did not die from all the blood that he lost on the way here. He was barely alive when Pixiemon brought him in." 

Tai had been watching the whole exchange between Sora and Gennai when he suddenly started feeling really queasy. He felt his stomach drop down a few feet, his throat constrict, his hands clamp up, and his heart start to race. _'What's going on with me?!'_ Tai thought, desperately trying to prevent himself from going into a panic. 

"Tai? Tai!" he heard his sister scream from beside him. He couldn't speak, and he felt his body changing inside him. He wasn't sure if it was the machine Gennai hooked him up to, or whether it was the digimon's attack that started changing his body. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened to a silent scream. His voice wouldn't cooperate with him. He saw Sora run to his side and feel his forehead. His body relaxed under her cool touch, and felt his muscles letting go. His breathing became normal again, his body parts returning to him. He gripped the sheets beside him tightly, wiping the wetness of his hands onto the bed sheet. 

"What happened?" Sora asked with worry etched on her face. 

"I… I don't know…" Tai replied, taking a deep breath. 

"I think it was the aftermath of his injury from an unknown digimon. Pixiemon said he surveyed the area after Tai had been hit, but he could not see anything. So he brought Tai here straight away." Gennai said, walking over to Tai. "It is a miracle that he lasted this long with his injuries in such bad shape when he first came in." 

"So I'm alright now?" Tai asked with a hopeful look on his face. 

"You'll need to rest of another day or two, but yes. You are back to normal. It's amazing that you took such little time to recover." Gennai said, still marveling over the fact that Tai recovered so fast. Tai's stomach rumbled in response. Everyone laughed at that. 

"I guess your stomach is back too." Sora said chuckling. "I'll bring you back some food." With that said, Gennai and her left the room. 

Back in the room, Kari was still trying to digest the fact that her brother was almost back to normal. 

"Hey Kari…" Tai said giving his goofy grin. "So, how's life been for the past day or two with out me?" He asked. Kari just cried, jumped up, and gave him another bone crushing hug. 

"Don't ever leave! Please don't do that again!!" Kari screamed, her face buried in the pillow that Tai's head was on. He rubbed her back in comfort. 

"Hey, calm down… I'm not going anywhere. I think you can even see that!" He said, pointing towards himself. Sora came back in carrying some hot soup that she had just made. She put it on a side table and went over to help Tai sit up. Once he was up, she placed the tray on his lap and let him eat in peace. 

Gennai went over to the machine that was near Tai and unhooked it from his arm. Tai rubbed the spot where the needle was stuck in- trying to get some feeling back into his arm. While doing that, his elbow accidentally knocked the tray over, making the boiling hot soup spill over onto his arm. He hissed in pain while Kari patted his arm dry with a wet cloth that was near by. Once she pulled the cloth back, his arm had a burn on it, his skin peeling off once again. Sora's eyes widened at the damage caused, as she picked his arm off the bed. As she stared at it, she saw his skin come back together, the burn disappearing on it's own accord. 

"What the…How…" Sora asked looking at Tai. Tai himself looked speechless. 

"It must be the machine… I mean he was just unhooked from it, then he burned himself… so there must still be some extra data in him to piece together any other injuries." Gennai said thinking of the only excuse that might be possible. Luckily everyone else in the room bought that excuse. Tai ate the rest of his soup and put it back onto the tabletop. 

"Agumon! I have to find Agumon!" He said suddenly, remembering his old friend. Kari's eyes widened a bit and she ran out of the room. She came back in holding Tai's digivice and handed it to him. 

"How about you hold onto this and Sora and I will go and search for him?" she asked turning towards Sora. She nodded her head in agreement. 

"But we'll go once Tai's up and walking." Sora said giving Tai a stern look. "I'm sure Agumon's fine… If anything has happened to him, I'm sure other digimon near by would have alerted Gennai already." Sora said, trying to buy some time. 

Tai was too tired to argue so he lied back down and closed his eyes. Before he fell asleep, he asked, "Where are Matt and the others?" Kari and Sora looked at each other and Kari said, "We didn't want the others to worry about you so we didn't tell them." 

  
"They're going to be mad at you, you know…. We need their help to look for Agumon anyways… There are some pretty nasty digimon out there…" He drawled on, finally falling asleep. Once he was asleep, the others backed out of the room to give Tai his rest. 

It was after dinner and the digimon were getting tired so the girls decided to turn in for the night. "How about we return to the real world tomorrow and bring the digidestined here?" Sora asked. 

"Sure, I guess…" Kari said. Sora nodded and headed over to her room. She lied down in the silk-sheeted bed and soon fell into a deep sleep. 

A few hours later a shrill scream pierced the air as the two girls jumped out of bed wondering what was making that sound. Sora ran downstairs following the sound. She realized it was coming from where Tai was located and burst into his room. She saw Tai writhing around on the bed, his body stiff with anxiety. He was jerking his head around so fast; one would think he would snap his head off. 

Sora's eyes widened and she rushed to Tai's side, cupping the sides of his face with her hands. She forced him to stop moving his head around just as Kari burst through the door. "What's going on here?!" Kari screamed. 

"I- I don't know Kari…" Sora said shaking her head. She felt Tai calming down under her touch, and she let his face go. She ran a hand through his hair, trying to ease his tension. "Calm down… It's alright…" she said in a soothing manner. Tai took deep gulps of air trying to calm his system down. 

"What happened Tai?" Sora whispered as she took the seat that was beside the bed. He shook his head, implying that he did not know. Sora was still running a hand through his hair and that was starting to make him a bit drowsy. His eyes started to close on him, but before he fell asleep again, he said three words:

"Something is changing…" 

  
*******

(chapter written: 11/16/03)

Hello my faithful readers…I hope your happy now! I got another chapter up pretty fast. Usually it would take me about a month or two to get the next chapter up… but since I have an outline for this story, it's going pretty fast actually!  Alright, another chapter down, who knows how many is left? Hahah…. Well I hope you liked this chapter! I don't have much to say except thanks to: 

Miss Siopao: thanks for checking out my story! And I did capitalize Agumon this time! If I missed his name anywhere, please let me know. ^_^

Kylie Norris: all I can say is that there's a reason y everything happens in the digital world…hehe… and there's a reason why Tai didn't die because of all that blood loss. ^_^

Sarika Kamiya01: I was typing your name and I was like, wasn't your name Sora Kamiya01 the last time I checked? Lol. Well either way is fine, and thank you for your review! Well I'll take a look at your story sometime! Don't worry, I'll get to it eventually, when I'm not bogged down with so much school work…. *sweatdrops*

Litanya: Thanks for the review… now I'm glad I put up the warning signs…just incase u know? ^_^

MemoriesLiveOn: do I really have to say thanks for the review to you? I mean I see you everyday…hehe j/k thanks though! ^_^

And please feel free to drop off a review!! Sayonara! 

**The third Harry Potter movie is coming out soon!! ^_^;;**

*******


	4. CH 4: Inner Feelings Revealed

_Lost in the Digital World: **Inner Feelings Revealed**_

_By: TaioraCrazedGirl_

****Now time for a commercial break**

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This commercial has been brought to you by, the one and only, Barairo Elf… And now back to the regularly scheduled program…

*~*~*~

Agumon felt the portal to the digital world open and his body pulled into the spiraling vortex. He heard Tai scream after him but he couldn't stop himself once he started getting pulled in. He knew Tai would follow him and help him from whatever kind of fix he would land himself in. Unfortunately for him, Tai didn't land in the same place. 

Agumon picked his body off the ground and dusted himself off the best he could. He looked around and saw that he landed in the middle of a desert. The desert was covered with poles and wires stretching for miles onward. 

"Tai? Tai!" Agumon called out, looking around to see if his partner had landed anywhere near where he was. When he saw that it was sand and wires for miles around, he decided to keep moving. He started walking and decided to find out where he was once he found another being like him. 

Agumon walked on for another hour or so, getting very dehydrated, his throat becoming parched. Sweat was rolling off his body by the gallons, and his eyes started to drop. With his head down, he continued on his way, and every now and then, glanced up to look for any signs of life near by. 

He glanced up once again and caught sight of a mountain not far off from where he was. He decided to climb the mountain to see if he could get a better view, so with that mission in mind; he set off towards the mountain. 

He climbed the mountain slow but steady, and finally made it about half way. He stopped when he saw a bunch of "things" run down the mountain. He could not make out what they were from the distance he was at, but they were approaching him with astonishing speed. 

After about a minute of waiting, he could finally make out what they were and was very excited that he found another digimon. The group of digimon stopped when they spotted him and asked what he was doing on their mountain. 

"Yokomon! Thank god I found you." He said, gratitude evident in his voice. He looked around the mountain that he was on. 

"I think I've been on this mountain before, when I first met Tai," he said, recognition striking his face. 

"Oh yes! You were with those humans and other digimon, correct? Is Biyomon still with that human?" One Yokomon asked. Agumon nodded. He still felt the sweat drip off his body, and it was getting harder to talk. 

"I was wondering if you had any water to drink," he started, but stopped when his stomach growled. "Hehe, and any food?" He asked, with a sheepish grin on his face. He felt bad taking food from the Yokomon, but his stomach demanded some, so he asked. 

"Oh yes. Excuse our impoliteness." Another Yokomon said, leading him to a water well. The other Yokomon pulled on the rope until a bucket of water came into view. They brought it out of the well and handed Agumon the bucket of water. He drank till his body could hold no more and ate the food they brought him till he was satisfied. He stood up and looked around the top of the mountain. He could see for miles around, but he could not see anything moving on the ground hundreds of feet below him. He sat back down and tried to think where Tai would be. 

"What's wrong Agumon?" One of the Yokomon asked. 

  
"Well, I came up here with my partner and both of us landed in different places. I don't know where he landed though." He confessed.

"But they have those little things…. what do you call them?"

"Digivices. Yes! He does! He can find me that way!" Agumon said, jumping up from where he was sitting. He sat back down with a thoughtful look on his face. "Is it alright if I stay with you guys till Tai picks me up?" Agumon asked.

The Yokomon looked around at each other for a minute and then turned back to Agumon. "It's fine with us. You can stay as long as you want." They said. 

"Thank you!" He said with a big grin on his face. 

~*~*~*

"What happened Tai?" Sora whispered as she took the seat that was beside the bed. He shook his head, implying that he did not know. Sora was still running a hand through his hair and that was starting to make him a bit drowsy. His eyes started to close on him, but before he fell asleep again, he said three words:

"Something is changing…" 

Sora sighed and turned her head towards where Kari was still standing. "Kari you should go to bed. You look like you could use some rest." She said. Kari was still shocked at what transpired in the room when she came in. Sora stood up and gently guided the girl back towards the stairs. "Kari, you didn't go to sleep yesterday night either. You need some rest." Sora urged on, ushering the girl towards her bedroom. 

"But…. but…I want to stay with my brother…" Kari said, snapping out of her shocked stupor. 

"Kari, he's fine now. If you want, I'll watch him for a bit and if anything happens, I'll be the first to let you know. Ok?" Kari sighed in defeat. She knew that when Sora wanted something done, she didn't let anything stop her from getting it done. 

Kari put her hands up in resignation. "Alright, alright. I'll go." Sora just gave a sad smile. Sora went back down the stairs after seeing that Kari went into her bedroom and went back to where Tai was sleeping. She saw his face in a grimace, and his eyebrows knitted together. She gave him a sad look and sat back in the chair beside his head. She moved the chair across the floor till she had his hand in her grasp. She gripped the cold hand in hers, holding onto it like her life depended on it. She placed her head down on the bed beside his body and closed her eyes; hoping… praying that he would get better. 

The next morning, a gentle, yet persistent prodding on her shoulder awakened Sora. With her eyes narrowed, she gradually lifted her head off the bed to see who it was that was bothering her early in the morning. 

"Oh Tai!" she said, bolting up into a sitting position, her eyes wide from shock. "I didn't know you were up yet…" He chuckled at her nervousness. "How are you though?" She asked, concern fluttering over her face. 

"I'm much better. I think I might even be able to get out of this room!" he said, a grin plastered on his face. 

Sora narrowed her eyes once again. "Oh no you don't mister! Until Gennai says you're perfectly OK, you're not going anywhere!" Tai pouted. A knock was heard through the room and Sora got up to see who it was. 

"Kari. Hi! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes I did, Sora, now that I know Tai's all better again." Kari said, walking into the room and giving her brother a smile. Tai smiled back at his now energetic little sister. 

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence, and then Sora broke started speaking. "How about we contact everyone else and ask them to come to the digital world? I mean, Tai can't go anywhere for a while, so might as well bring everyone over here." Sora exclaimed, taking her d- terminal out from her pocket. 

Kari and Tai nodded at that idea. Sora walked out of the room- deciding to give Kari and Tai some room- and went to where the couch was. She sat down and started to email everyone. Kari soon left the room and went to find Gennai. Once she located him, in another room, she came to sit by Sora's side. 

Gennai went to where Tai was and looked at him expectantly. "Um… could you help me get my clothes?" Tai asked, his face turning a bright red from embarrassment. Gennai nodded and went out of the room. He reentered shortly, carrying a pair or pants and a clean shirt. 

"I brought you a new set of clothes seeing that the other one's are torn to shreds." Gennai said as he removed the blanket off of Tai's lower body. He helped Tai get into the clothes, since he didn't have enough strength to dress himself at the moment. Once done, Tai laid back down onto the bed and Gennai left the room, saying he had some business to attend to. Sora and Kari reentered the room to keep Tai some company while they waited for the arrival of the other digidestined. 

After a while, everyone arrived at Gennai's house in the digital world. 

Yamato was the first to arrive, and came into the room Kari, Sora and Tai were in. He greeted Kari with a smile, Sora with a kiss on the cheek and Tai with a grin. "Hey man… what did you get yourself into this time?" Matt asked, chuckling. Tai grinned back. 

"Nothing much, just another one of those evil digimon was after me again… like usual." Matt laughed at his antics. 

"But seriously. Are you alright?" 

"Yea. I'm fine! Everyone should just stop fussing over me!" Tai said laughing.

"I would have gotten here sooner, but two girls decided to not inform me of this and came here looking for you themselves." He stated, raising his eyebrows at Kari and Sora. Both grinned back sheepishly. 

Once people arrived at Gennai's house, they came into the room where Tai was staying and soon it became too crowded for everyone to stay in there at once. The room was over stuffed with people and machines that it started to become a bit over- heated. "How about we take Tai out to the couch? He's completely recovered, so we could just carry him there." Davis said, grabbing onto Tai's legs. 

"Hey! I don't think I want Davis carrying me there!" Tai retorted. Matt gave a small laugh as he grabbed Tai's shoulders and Joe got his legs. The two older digidestined carried their "old leader" to the couch and seated him upright. The rest of the digidestined filtered out of the room after them and sat down on the ground or beside Tai on the couch. 

Once everyone was comfortable, T.K. finally asked what had been on everyone's minds. "What happened Tai?" Tai started retelling what happened for the past few days, starting with the virus on his computer, to Izzy planning on fixing his computer, to getting sucked into the portal, up until when he saw the rest of the digidestined. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes after he finished speaking. 

"So that means you have no clue as to where Agumon is?" Izzy asked. Tai nodded his head and his eyes drifted towards the ground. "He might be in another dimension for all we know…" Izzy said hesitantly, hoping that he was wrong on this one. 

"We'll get on the search right away Tai!" Davis said standing up. "We have to do something instead of sitting around all day." He said, grabbing hold of Veemon. "Is anyone with me?" He heard a chorus of 'Yes's' and he decided to head out. Most of the digidestined stood up, except for Sora, gathering their digimon. 

"Sora, aren't you coming with us?" Matt asked. She smiled and shook her head. "I didn't get much sleep last night, so I think I'm just going to stay here and catch up on some sleep. Plus I don't think Tai will be very happy if we all just abandon him and go looking for his digimon." She said, flashing Tai a grin. "You guys go 

and I'll stay here and keep Tai company. If I'm lucky, I can catch up on some sleep." She said, ushering Matt out the door with the others. 

Biyomon was standing by Sora's side, beside the door. "Hey Sora, how about if I go with them? I might be able to help them look for Agumon too." The little bird digimon asked. 

"That's a great idea! Alright!" Sora exclaimed, pointing her digivice at her digimon. A bright glow engulfed the small creature and a big firebird replaced Biyomon. Birdramon let out a loud cry and took to the air. She stretched her wings for a minute or two and landed back on the ground beside the other digidestined. 

"We'll be back by night fall Sora!" Mimi said, climbing on the back of Kabuterimon and sitting behind the red haired computer whiz. Sora smiled, waved and then closed the door of Gennai's house behind her. She went back to the couch and sat beside Tai. She took his hand in hers and he turned to face her.

"How are you feeling?" 

"I'm better… though I really have no idea what's going on inside of me. It feels like a raging storm inside my body. But at the same time, everything is numb… something isn't right." He said, grabbing a tighter hold onto her hands. Sora frowned. 

"What do you mean?"

"The machine Gennai hooked me up on helped me recover a bit… but I felt _my body_ mend back the pieces that were missing. It didn't feel like Gennai's machine… it felt like something else." Sora gave him a questioning look. "I really don't know how to explain it, but I know what state I was in, and I know that I _should not _have healed that fast… Something just doesn't fit into this picture properly…" 

He trailed off when he saw Sora give a yawn. Tai grinned. "You're sleepy… why don't you go to sleep?"

"But then you'll be bored.... and no one's around either, except for Gennai, but who knows where he is?" Sora replied laughing, Tai laughing with her. A comfortable silence followed and Sora felt her eyes slowly drop and her mind starting to fog up. Unbeknown to her, Sora's head swayed a bit, finally resting on Tai's shoulder. She was too tired to even take notice and her eyes closed soon after her head touched something concrete. 

"Sora?"

"…." 

"Sora?" Tai asked once again, turning towards his friend. He thought she just laid her head on his shoulder to get more comfortable, a small thing she used to do every now and then. But when he turned his head, he saw her peacefully asleep on his shoulder, her arms clutching onto his forearm. He chuckled softly and tilted his head upwards. He rested the back of his head against the couch and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes; just letting his thoughts run wild. 

**~Tai's POV~**

I felt a lightweight applied onto my shoulder and I turned to see what it was. Apparently, Sora thought my shoulder would be a nice makeshift pillow. Guess she was too tired to get up and go all the way to her room. I leaned back and rested my head against the couch. Staring at the blank, white ceiling, I thought about the past few days-

Coming home and arguing with Agumon over food, being sucked into the Digital World, loosing Agumon on the way, trying to prevent myself from being eaten by Monochromon, being attacked by some evil digimon…

What more can go wrong in my life? … I don't think I want the answer to that question. 

I took a deep breath and released it. 

I felt a dull throbbing throughout my head and behind my eyes. It had been there ever since I had been awake. I asked Gennai if he knew the cause of it, but he had no answers. He said it would go away with time, but I didn't believe him. It just didn't seem like something that would go away with time. 

Sora pressed into my side a bit more and clutched at my arm a bit tighter. I cracked an eye open, pulled my arm out of her grasp and wrapped it around her shoulders. I slid down the couch a bit more, trying to get comfortable. Sora's head fell down to my chest and she came a bit closer. I closed my eyes once again and tried to enjoy the calm and quiet before the rest of the digidestined came back. 'Hopefully they'll find Agumon.' I thought to myself. 

I didn't know what I'll do if he really was lost in another world. I really did hope he was ok… 

The pulsing in my head got a bit stronger but this time, it made me more alert to its presence. 

The pulsing increased every now and then and sometimes it got to a state where I couldn't handle the pain anymore. When the throbbing increased to such a degree, it felt like my head got torn in two and someone was trying to pull apart every living fiber in me. When the throbbing behind my eyes increased to such intensity, I was ready to claw them out myself if the pain didn't stop. 

There would be sharp pains shooting through my back one after another in sequence, each one increasing in intensity. I could then feel my back arch, my body trying to subdue the pain that flowed through. 

I could feel something trying to get out… something my body tried to prevent. Something clawed at my mind, from behind my eyes, through my back, at my veins, trying to find freedom to the outside world through my body. At that point, I can't take the pain any more and I let it all out by giving it voice. 

Last time I felt like that, Sora came first and I could feel her hand rest on my forehead. The cool touch of her hand calmed me down and I could feel whatever it was that was trying to get out, calm down and go back to where ever it came from. Some how, her touch helped repress the "thing" inside of me. 

Sora… she's been there whenever I've needed help, now that I think about it. She even came with Kari, back to the digital world, just to find me. I don't know why she didn't tell anyone else though. 

I looked back down at the auburn haired girl that was sleeping in my arms and I felt a smile tug at my lips. She lets out a soft moan and her facial features twist into one of worry. I run a hand through her soft hair trying to ease her tension in the only way I know how. I saw her calm down again and I drifted back to my previous thoughts. 

I started to remember the time when I found out Matt and Sora were dating. The shock and pain I felt at that time came back to me as I relived that moment in my mind. I suddenly feel a surge of anger towards Matt. I know I shouldn't have such feelings towards Matt and I know, or I think I know, at that time when I first found out about them dating, I harbored no anger towards Matt or Sora. But now, I don't know why I have anger towards him. Maybe the thing inside of me is making me feel things that I should not be feeling. 

_'Or maybe it's just uncovering the feelings you've tried to oppress.'_ A voice said in my head. I pushed it to the side, not wanting to think about that time anymore. I switched my thoughts towards the other digidestined and Agumon.

I hoped Agumon was ok, because there was some random evil digimon out trying to terrorize all good in the digital world. "Hopefully the others will get to him in time…" I mutter under my breath. In my arms, Sora stirred slightly. Apparently, my "whispering to myself" bothered her. I sighed and continued on with my train of thoughts. 

I lifted my head off the couch and glanced at a clock - that was on the wall nearby- a few minutes later and realized that it is almost dinnertime and the other digidestined would be returning soon. 

The pounding in my head increased slightly and I had to grind my teeth from hissing out in pain. Unknowingly, I clutched onto Sora a bit tighter, pulling her closer to my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something else other than the pain. When Sora let out a moan, I realized I was holding her too tight, and in doing so, I was hurting her. That thought took my mind off the pain and I released my hold on her slightly. 

After a minute or so, the pain slowly started to subside. It finally went back to being a dull headache. I sighed and closed my eyes once again. I laid my head back on top of the couch and decided to put my mind at ease by not thinking about anything else. 

My eyes snapped open when I heard the door open and my head turned towards the source of the sound. Apparently, Matt and the rest of the crew were back like they said they would be. 

**~Normal POV~**

The digimon, or at least the ones that were flying, landed back onto the soft earth once again. Then, they transformed back into their normal forms. The water parted once again and the ten digidestined went down the stairs to Gennai's house. Matt was the first one in, eager to see Sora… and Tai. He eased the door open and was surprised to see the house dark and quiet. He stepped through the threshold and looked around the darkened room. He walked towards the kitchen and turned the light on. The kitchen lighted up, producing a soft glow that flowed into the room where Tai and Sora were located. 

Matt saw a mass of brown hair and immediately recognized it as Tai's. Matt saw Tai stare back at him, and he walked over to the couch. He made it around the big blob of material in his way and finally got a good look at Tai. To his surprise, he saw Sora lying in Tai's arms, head on his chest, his arm around her. He looked Tai straight in the eye and raised one eyebrow. Tai grinned in response. All he said in his defense was, "She fell asleep." Matt nodded his head and sat down on the other side of Sora, on the three-seater couch. 

Tai unwrapped his arm from around Sora's shoulders and Matt took the still sleeping Sora into his arms. All of a sudden, Tai's eyes flashed with anger and a hint of sadness, but Matt took no notice of it.

Sora stirred slightly from the abrupt movements, and her eyes fluttered open. She saw a head of blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes staring at her. "Hey."

"Hi yourself." Sora said, in a slightly groggy tone. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and turned to the other side of her. "Tai!" she exclaimed, forgetting that he was still there on the couch. "I hope I haven't bored you to death by falling asleep!" she said.

Tai chuckled. "No. I was able to finally take some time and think about things." He turned to Matt and then asked the question that had been picking at the back of his brain for quite some time. "Did you find Agumon?" 

Matt sighed and finally answered him. "No. We didn't check out the whole digital world… but I'm pretty sure we at least covered half of it by now. From where we searched, we couldn't find any trace of a small yellow dinosaur. We'll go back out tomorrow morning after breakfast and continue our search." Tai nodded in approval. 

"I'm sure he's ok." Tai said, trying to reassure himself more than the others. Sora smiled a sad, yet reassuring smile towards Tai and then got up when the other digidestined came piling through the room.

Gennai appeared suddenly and asked them all to come to the kitchen for dinner. The twelve digidestined took their dinner that consisted of fish and fruits, and decided to eat their dinner outside. Davis started a fire with some branches he found laying around the outside of the house and everyone sat around it. They started talking about anything and everything that came to mind, late into the night. 

Around midnight, Takeru and Kari got up and got ready to go back inside. Kari took a step towards the door but stopped when Tai called out to her and T.K. "Where are you guys going?" he asked, an amused smile playing on his face.

"We were getting really tired, so we decided to turn in for the night." Kari said, picking up the nearly passed out Gatomon off the ground. 

"I hope your not turning in for the night in the same bed!" Matt hollered. T.K.'s eyes widened and Kari's face turned a nice reddish color. Both Tai and Matt chuckled at their reactions. Sora, who was sitting between Matt and Tai, elbowed both of them in the side, making them groan in pain. 

"What was that for Sor?" Matt asked, rubbing his side. 

"Leave the two love birds alone will ya?" Sora asked, winking at Kari. 

"SORA!!" Kari said, her face turning three different shades of red. Sora just laughed at the two younger children. 

"Go on you two… get out of here!" Matt said, finally letting them to leave. Before they left though, Davis yelled out: "Can I join you two?" and got hit on the head by Yolie and Cody. Tai was shaking with laughter by the time Kari and T.K. went out of sight. 

Once inside, Kari was thoroughly embarrassed at the exchange between the older digidestined. With Gatomon in her arms, she ran up to her room, closed the door behind her and dug in under the comforters. After a few minutes, she heard a soft knocking at her door and decided to open the door. She got out from under the bed covers, placed Gatomon on one of the pillows that was on her bed and opened the door. She saw T.K. on the other side, grinning sheepishly at her. 

She smiled back. "Hi." 

"Hi… apparently Gennai forgot to tell the rest of us where our rooms are… so I was wondering if I could just stay with you for a bit, then go look around for Gennai? I mean I haven't had a chance to properly sit down and have a full conversation with you since our brothers have been picking on us since the beginning of summer…" he said, scratching the back of his head slightly. 

"Sure. Come on in," said Kari, opening the door a little wider. She smiled at his flustered look and closed most of the door behind him. 

T.K. sat on the corner of her bed and Kari sat down next to him. 

"So, how's your summer been?" T.K. asked, breaking through the tension. 

"It was all right, up until when Tai and Agumon decided to go to the digital world," she said giving a soft chuckle. She kept her eyes cast downwards onto the ground. 

Back at the "camp-out," everyone thought it was about time to go inside and get some sleep, and Davis was eager to get back inside to see Kari and make sure T.K. wasn't making any moves on "his girl." 

Davis was the first one though the door and made a bee- line for the stairs. He climbed them, taking them by twos and went straight to Kari's room. He saw the door was slightly open and let himself in without knocking. 

"Hey Kari!" Davis said, enthusiasm evident in his voice. He got a good look around the Kari's bedroom when his whole body was inside the room. There was Gatomon sleeping on Kari's bed and beside the cat digimon was Kari, and T.K. sitting beside her. 

His eyes narrowed at the sight of T.K. Even though they defeated very powerful digimon together- to save the digital world of course, Davis still competed with T.K. for "the girl." Unfortunately for Davis, T.K. was putting up a pretty decent fight. 

Downstairs, Joe saw Tai back to his "room" (it was his room till he recovered) and came back into the hall only to come face to face with Gennai. 

"Oh, Gennai. Hi." Said a startled Joe. The digimon just smiled back at him. 

"Come. I will show you to your room." Gennai said, turning around and walking towards the stairs. Joe followed the old digimon and at the top of the stairs, he met up with the other digidestined. Sora said good night and turned the corner to go to her room. 

She held onto the doorknob, ready to turn it and enter her room, but decided against it. She heard a soft snoring by her feet; Biyomon was fast asleep beside her. Sora smiled, opened the door, and carried Biyomon inside the room. She placed Biyomon on a perch that was set up in her room, and then walked out.

She closed her door behind her and walked into the room next to hers. The door was parted slightly and she let herself in. She saw Kari in bed, Gatomon right beside her. 

Apparently when Sora was in her room, Gennai showed T.K. and Davis their rooms for the night. Before she exited her room- after placing Biyomon there- she heard T.K.'s and Davis' voices in Kari's room. 

The older girl went to Kari's bedside and sat down by the now wide-awake Kari. Sora ran a hand in the younger girl's hair, in a motherly fashion. 

"How are you? You've been through a lot ever since we've gotten here." Sora stated. Kari smiled at the motherly love Sora was showering her. 

"I'm fine Sora. It was just overwhelming when I first found out Tai used his computer to go to the digital world. I thought I might not see him ever again!" The brown haired girl said, wiping a lone tear from her eye. Sora nodded in response. She moved her hand down from Kari's head, and started rubbing her back in a soothing motion. Kari's body was wracking with sobs and Sora was finally able to quell the girl's anxiety. Once Sora heard Kari's even breathing, she got up and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. 

Sora went back to her room and climbed into bed. She turned off the lights with a clap of her hands and lied down on the feathery bed to get a well needed- full night's sleep. 

********

(chapter completed: 12/10/03)  
  


_Thanks to:_

**star's dreams: **thanks for continuing to read it! Glad you liked it so far!

**Kylie Norris:** hah. Loved your review… so inspiring! Haha. I have to continue the story then, to prevent you from killing me… *hides behind a big boulder hoping Kylie won't see*

**Miss Siopao**: Thanks for reviewing again! Well, I didn't exactly explain the change fully, but your getting pieces of it. Haha. You'll see what the change is in like another 5 chapters? I haven't exactly planned it in that detail… I keep getting side tracked and keep adding things into it here and there. ^_^;; 

**Stevemon23:** Your review asked, "whats the deal with the symbol on the dreser?" and frankly, I have no clue! Haha. I just put it in there… when I wrote it, I had no idea what that symbol was for… but I'll find a place for it somewhere… 

**Iwish: **…. What do I have to say to you? I see you every day anyways…. Hah… but thanks for the review ^_^

**Litanya:** well, I hope I answered most of your questions here in this chapter…. Or if I just confused you even more, then you'll have to wait for another few chapters before you get any proper answers. ^_^

**Sarika Kamiya01**: thanks for the harry potter movie update! ^_^; and I see you have written a HP fic too! Lol I'm planning on writing one once I read the books once over. Probably start writing it sometime this summer I suspect. 

And please feel free to drop off a review!! Adios! 

**The third Harry Potter movie is coming out in June as I have been informed!! ^_^;;**

**BY the way, I have posted all these chapters up on my Yahoo site, . I will also be posting portions of the next chapter up as I write it, so anyone can go and be a beta and get a sneak preview of the next chapter! Sometimes ff.net is down so I might post the next chapter up on Yahoo faster than I will here. **

**I will try to post on Mondays from now on, probably every other Monday. But I will keep on posting portions of the next chapter up on yahoo so you don't exactly have to wait till the next chapter comes out…. If you get my drift… ^_^**

***********


	5. CH 5: Seeing Red

_Lost in the Digital World: **Seeing Red**_

_By: TaioraCrazedGirl_

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*~*~*~

Sora went back to her room and climbed into bed. She turned off the lights with a clap of her hands and lied down on the feathery bed to get a well needed- full night's sleep.

The next day, Sora opened the front door expecting to see another bright and sunny day. But instead, she got a face full of snow thrown her way by a gust of wind. 

"What in th…." Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. There, littered on the ground below her, was a soft, fluffy powder that created a soft blanket of white over Gennai's home. Sora brought her eyebrows together in wonder and walked back in. It was too chilly to be standing outside in that kind of weather. She saw Gennai at the kitchen counter getting some food ready for his guests- the digidestined. The digidestined- except for Sora- were still fast asleep in their respective rooms. 

"Hello Sora. I take it you cannot sleep?" Gennai asked. 

_'Gennai's good…_' she thought as she answered his question. "Apparently not. I got enough sleep to re-energize me though." She said, seating herself at the table. Gennai placed a plate of fruits in front of Sora and went back to the counter. 

"What is going on outside Gennai?" she asked. 

"I'm not sure Sora, but I suspect that this is the doing of an evil digimon. Usually the weather will not change just like that without notice in the digital world. You digidestined should be on your guard." Sora nodded her head in response. She ate the fruit in silence and the only thing that could be heard was Gennai cutting the fruit at the kitchen counter. 

**~Sora's POV~**

I sat at the table in the kitchen just listening to the quiet sounds; sounds you can never quite hear if you don't pay attention to them. I thought back to earlier this morning-

I awoke from a restless sleep and came downstairs to the sight of Gennai fixing breakfast for us digidestined out of the kindness of his heart. I slipped past the kitchen and opened the front door to get some fresh air before I headed in for breakfast. But when I opened the door, all I saw for miles around was a blanket of snow. 

I blinked a few times thinking maybe I was hallucinating, but apparently I wasn't. I went back to the kitchen where Gennai was and he served me a plate of fruit. I took a piece off the plate and held it in my hand. The picture of the snow filled yard kept popping into my mind, so I finally asked him what was going on. He said he didn't know, but thought it might be an evil digimon. My eyes narrowed and fists clenched at that thought. If it was the same digimon that hurt Tai, then that digimon WILL PAY. 

All of a sudden, I felt a liquid substance flow through my hand and pool around at my wrist. I look down at the table where my hand was resting, and I saw the fruit in my hand was now just a lump of mush. I picked up a napkin I found in the vicinity of my body and reached for it with my other hand. I dropped the fruit- now mush- onto the napkin, rolled it up and shot it towards the trashcan that was conveniently placed beside the kitchen counter, not to far off from where Gennai was standing. It went in with a quiet "swoosh" and I picked up another piece of fruit. 

This time I was careful not to squish it in my hand and bit into it. The fruit's juices filled my mouth and I swallowed. I closed my eyes and I sighed. I was still a bit sleepy and I could feel my eyelids weigh down more than usual.

I head a soft padding of feet coming my way and I opened my eyes and glanced in the direction I thought the sounds were coming from. I saw the sleepy form of T.K. come towards the table and take a seat beside me. He glanced at me and grinned. "Hey Sora," his voice was still thick with sleep. 

"Hey." I whispered back seeing that he couldn't handle loud noises so early in the morning. He took a piece of fruit and bit into it. A few minutes later, T.K. pushed his chair back and stood up. I looked up at him and all he said was, "I'm going to freshen up." I take it he's going to take a shower. I watch him leave and see another body appear. 

A big mop of brown hair followed by a body entered the kitchen. He took the seat T.K. was previously sitting in and glanced around the kitchen. I grinned. 

"Had a nice sleep?" I asked. Tai turned to look at me. He rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them and gave a yawn. I smiled and shook my head. 

"Yea…" he answered. I just laughed at that. 

"It doesn't look like that to me."

"That's what you –" he started, but was stopped by a yawn. His hand wasn't in front of his mouth so I took a piece of fruit off of the plate in front of me and stuck that piece into his mouth making it snap shut immediately. His eyes widened in shock and then he turned to glare at me. I giggled.

"If I didn't make you close your mouth, a fly would have." I said between laughs. I just heard him growl in response. Once I had calmed down, I realized that he came to the kitchen by himself. 

I turned to him and asked, "Did you walk here by yourself?" He nodded. My eyes widened in delight. "Then that means you're all better?" I turned to Gennai. "Does this mean he's fully recovered Gennai?" The old digimon turned to face us. He walked over to Tai and asked him to stand up. He did some routine check ups like seeing if he could move all his body parts and if he had any stiffness anywhere. Everything looked good.

"I think he's good to go." Gennai said smiling. Tai had a big smile plastered on his face by now. "All right! I can go find Agumon now!" He said. But then his stomach gave a loud growl. "Of course, that is after I eat." I gave a little laugh and wondered how we were going to find Agumon. Then I remembered it was snowing out. 

"Uhh, Tai? After you finish eating, we might want to go back to the real world and pick up a few things…" I said trailing off. He looked up at me with questioning eyes. I just said, "Take a look outside." 

Once again, the chair was pushed back and Tai walked over to the fish tank. I followed him there and stood behind him, just to amuse myself with his reaction. Since the fish tank was technically a see- through wall in the house, he took a look through the fish tank. All he saw was white. I saw him blink a few times and he walked over to the front door. 

I take it, he thought he was seeing things. He opened the door, and just like me, got a fist full of snow thrown into his face. "WHAT IN THE WORLD???" he screamed. I started laughing- there was Tai, face full of snow, staring wide-eyed in shock at what he was seeing.

He turned to me and wiped the snow off his face. "Oh and you find this funny do you?" he asked. I stopped laughing all of a sudden. I saw a evil glint in his eyes, but before I could contemplate what he was thinking, I got another face full of snow thrown at me. This time, it wasn't the wind, but my very annoying, best friend. 

My eyes narrowed. My fists clenched. Tai's eyes widened. Then I ran straight at him. I tackled him right through the door and both of us fell into the soft snow. I took a fist full of snow and rubbed it into his face.

"Hey! HEY!!" he grabbed my hands all of a sudden and rammed me into the snow. I became deathly quiet; my brain working one- hundred miles per hour, trying to figure out what Tai was going to do. 

He got up off the snow-covered ground and brushed the snow off his face. His hair was almost white with snow now. He kneeled on the ground and started gathering snow. 

My eyes widened in realization. 

I started scrambling, trying to get up off the ground and back into the house. But I was too late. When I finally got onto my knees, Tai threw a fist full of snow at me, hitting me square in the face. Then I heard him laughing. I dragged a hand down my face, dragging the snow down with my hand. 

I growled. I was mad. 

Grabbing a hand full of snow, I ran towards the door- about two feet away- and the whole time I was getting hit in the back with snowballs. I turned around when he finally stopped throwing snow and saw him refilling his snowball supply. He looked up, probably because he heard no more movement, and his mouth was slightly open, white wisps flowing out of his mouth. I took the chance and threw my snowball at him. 

My eyes grew wide and I doubled over in laughter. After I threw the snowball, out of pure luck, it hit Tai square in the mouth. Now he was on the ground, spitting out the snow that went into his mouth. I saw him finally get up and pick up a few snowballs. My laughter decreased a bit, but I was still giggling at the previous incident as I ran to the door. I finally got inside and slammed the door behind me. I heard a 'thud' of a snowball hitting the door behind me. 

Gennai came to the door and asked what was going on. I was drenched, my shirt completely wet, my hair wet with white flakes in it, and my pants… wet… completely wet. The snow that was on my clothes was slowly dripping off my body and started forming a puddle near my feet. The warm air in the house soon warmed me up, but the snow started melting and I left puddles of water every where I went. 

I removed my wet shoes and socks off my feet and placed them near the door to let them dry. I started walking towards the stairs when I heard Gennai open the door. I saw Tai come in, his clothes too were dripping wet. His hair was covered in the white powder also. He took off his shoes and socks just like I did, and place it beside mine. He looked up, took sight of me and started walking towards me. He stopped a few feet from me and stared. When I finally realized he was staring at me- Sora Takenouchi, in wet, almost see- through clothes, I smirked. 

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like something you see Kamiya?" His head shot up and looked me in the eye. Then his gaze diverted and I saw him blush. I let out a soft laugh and went up the stairs to take nice hot bath.

**~Tai's POV~**

I saw a snowball coming straight at me and hit my mouth. My eyes widened and I dropped to my knees spitting out the cold ice. _How dare she!!_ After I got all the ice out of my mouth, I collected more snow with revenge in my mind. I looked up and saw Sora running to the door. With a snowball in my hand, I threw it at her, but unfortunately it hit the door after she closed it. A second too late… 

I got up off the wet ground and walked over to the closed door. I knocked and Gennai was kind enough to open the door for me. I saw the carpet below me was totally wet. I looked up and saw Sora waiting by the stairs. I took my socks and shoes off and placed them beside hers. Then I walked over to where Sora was standing. I looked her over once, and realized that her shirt was now practically see-through and couldn't help but stare. 

I heard her say, "Like something you see Kamiya?" and I knew I was caught staring. I looked up at her but was too ashamed, so I turned my head to the side and had the curtsey to blush. I heard her laugh and walk up the stairs to take a bath, I assume. I didn't want my thoughts to go any further than that so I diverted my attention to something else. It was then that I finally realized my clothes, like Sora's, were completely wet. 

_I'll just take a bath once we go back to the real world, _I decided, too lazy to go upstairs and get cleaned up. I decided to wait till everyone was ready- ready to head off back to Earth. I knew I had to look for Agumon and fast, but I needed better clothing than just a shirt and shorts to go out in the snow. 

~**Normal POV~**

Upstairs, on the second floor, a light- blonde haired, blue-eyed boy woke up from a restless sleep. He heard the soft sounds of running water from some where near by. He pulled off the blankets that covered his body and slowly got on his feet. He found his jeans on a chair near by and slid into them. Once his jeans were fastened on, he walked out of his room and into the hallway. He followed the sounds of the trickling water and found himself standing in front of a bathroom door. The sound of running water stopped and he heard the soft padding of footsteps come his way. The sounds stopped for a few minutes and continued his way again. The bathroom door creaked open and a slim figure with fiery red hair came into the view of a pair of blue eyes. 

"Oh! Matt!" said a startled Sora. She was fully dressed in the same clothes she was wearing earlier, but this time her clothes were dry. "Sora!" he said, equally surprised. "Is everyone awake?" he asked, with an embarrassed look on his face, thinking that everyone else was awake before him. 

"No, no. Besides myself only Takeru, Tai and Gennai are awake… I think. They were the only two I saw this morning besides you." She replied. 

"Oh. Ok." Matt grinned. Then all of a sudden, he placed his lips over Sora's, taking in her sweet taste. Her eyes widened in surprise and a thousand and one thoughts ran through her head at that moment. One thought stood out in particular…

_'What will Tai think?'_

She shook that thought out of her head, shocked at what she was thinking._ 'I didn't care about what he thought two years ago when I first got together with Matt. Why are such thoughts coming into my head now?'_

To rid herself of all insecurities, she kissed Matt back with as much love and passion she could muster. But a tiny piece of insecurity still lingered in her mind, and that one tiny piece would soon prove to be a real annoyance. 

Sora pushed her lips against Matt's and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled his face closer to hers, trying desperately, to make any other thoughts besides Matt, to flee from her head. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and felt her body being pulled closer to the firm body across from her. She gave a slight moan, her head starting to give a slight ache from the pressure of Matt and her wild thoughts. 

Soon the two teenagers broke away from each other to catch their breath. While Matt gulped in the air around him, he looked at Sora with a glazed look in his eyes. 

"Wow…" was all he could say. After he got his breathing back to normal, he asked, "What brought that on?" 

"Uhhh…" Sora couldn't tell him the exact reason now could she? Her cheeks were tinged with a light pink hue and she closed her eyes trying to regain control of her body and her thoughts. Matt was still in a mild shock and kept staring at the girl in front of him. Then all of a sudden, a big blob of pink came into his view. His eyes widened in shock as he took a few steps backwards, stumbling around trying to regain his footing. 

"Oh! I'm so sorry Matt!" he heard a shrill voice call to him. Once he regained his balance, he stole a glance at what he saw as a "big blob of pink" and realized it was Mimi's hair. 

"Oh….Mimi….." he said blinking a few times. 

"I'm sorry Matt, Sora. I should have watched where I was going…" Mimi said trailing off. She had just woken up and stumbled out of her room towards the bathroom only to knock into Matt on her way there. She was still very sleepy as it was and did not watch where she was going so Matt ended up with a face full of hair and stumbling around the place trying to stand straight. 

"It's all right Mimi." Sora said, grabbing Matt by the arm and helping him keep his balance. He was quite confused, first by Sora and then by Mimi. Sora on the other hand was quite relieved that Mimi showed up; otherwise it would have created some uncomfortable tension between Matt and Sora. 

Mimi nodded and slipped passed Sora and Matt to enter the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and the sound of running water could soon be heard. Sora looked down at the ground and said, "Maybe we should head downstairs and keep… keep Tai some company." She was still slightly flustered by the random thoughts that were flowing though her head when Matt kissed her. 

Matt nodded and said, "All right," and both Sora and Matt went down the stairs to the kitchen. Once inside the kitchen, the two teenagers saw Tai- in completely wet clothes- sitting at the breakfast table munching on some fruit. "Tai! I take it you're back to normal?" Matt asked, excitement evident on his face. Tai smiled and nodded. "All right man!! That's great!" Matt exclaimed, patting Tai on the back. 

The whole time Matt was talking to Tai, Sora had a worried look on her face. "Tai," she started, walking over to where Tai and Matt where sitting and standing respectively, "you should really get out of those wet clothes and change into something drier." Sora said, picking up the edge of Tai's shirt and twisting it to prove her point. Water dripped off the shirt and pooled around Sora's feet. She sat down on the chair beside him and gasped when she placed a hand onto his arm. "Tai! You're soaking wet and you're skin's freezing! If you don't get out of these clothes soon, you're going to fall sick!" she screamed.

Tai looked up at the worried face of Sora and smiled at her. "I'm fine. It's just my skin on the outside that's freezing." Both Matt and Sora gave him confused looks. He shook his head in response. "Don't worry about it…. I'll explain it to you later. But for now, I'm fine. I'm going to wait till everyone is ready to go back to the real world and I'll get a change of clothes there." Sora sighed, gave up and took a seat beside him. Matt walked over and sat across from Sora, beside Tai. 

"I think I'll do that too." Matt said, picking a fruit into his hand. Sora raised her eyebrows wondering what Matt was talking about. 

"Can you please try to refrain from using too many riddles?" She asked. Matt chuckled. 

"I think I'll wait till everyone is ready and once we go back to the real world, I'll take a shower." He said, nodding to himself to confirm his thoughts. Sora just made a weird face at him. 

While Matt sat there nodding his head to confirm his thoughts, Kari and Davis came into the kitchen, hand in hand. Tai looked at them and raised an eyebrow. "What's this?" 

"Well," Davis started.

"Hey, I thought T.K. was making the moves here." Matt said, coming back into reality. 

"MATT!" Both Kari and Sora screamed, but Sora slapped Matt on the arm for being so obnoxious. 

"What?" he said, giving an innocent look. 

"Look," Kari started, giving a pointed look to Matt and Tai. "Davis dragged me here. T.K.'s in the shower right now and Davis had nothing better to do," and at this point she glared at Davis and continued again, "so he brought me down for breakfast seeing that I was awake." She pulled away from Davis' grasp and sat down beside Sora at the table. Gennai turned around and placed a big bowl of soup in the middle of the table and brought a hand full of tiny bowls and placed them beside the big bowl. 

"Eat up!" he said with a smile. Davis ran around the table and took a seat beside where Kari was sitting. When he sat down in his seat, T.K., Cody, Yolie, Ken, Joe, and Izzy came into the kitchen one after another. They all took their seats around the big breakfast table and Gennai came with plates of food in his hands. 

There was one seat left empty between Joe and Matt and Sora took a look around the table. "Where's Mimi? Did she ever get out of the shower?" 

"I'm coming!!!" someone hollered from outside the kitchen. A pink blur could be seen running into the kitchen, flying towards the seat between Matt and Joe. After the "pink blur" stopped moving, it started to take in deep breaths of air. "Did I miss anything?" it panted out. 

"No you didn't Mimi." Joe said chuckling. "Here." He took a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her. "Eat up, cause we're heading back to Earth for a quick pit stop. Then we'll come back." Mimi nodded and started shoveling food into her mouth. 

"Mimi! You might choke on something if you eat that fast." Matt commented, watching her eat the whole time. Mimi just glared at him in return. 

Once everyone had eaten all they could eat, the twelve digidestined headed out from the kitchen towards the computer located in the room beside the kitchen. Tai, since he was the first one in the room, pointed his digivice at the computer and a light green glow was emitted from the computer screen. The remaining digidestined crowed around the computer screen while the green glow became stronger with each passing second. Soon, the room was filled with the glow and with a faint 'swoosh' the digidestined were sucked into the portal that connected the digital world with the real one. 

Tai had set the digi port to open in his apartment, but using his dad's computer. Tai himself had gotten a new computer the previous year for his birthday, but had some how gotten a virus on it already. The twelve kids landed on the hard floor of the Kamiya apartment and scrambled onto their feet. With Tai in the lead, the ten teenagers and one pre-teen (Cody) went into the hallway after Tai. 

**~Tai's POV~**

We were finally back in the real world. I saw everyone filing after me out of the room and into the hall. They went over to the living room and found a seat on the floor or on the couch to sit on and I headed over to my room to grab a quick shower before I returned to the group. Once I came back, Joe got up from the floor and turned towards me. 

"Tai I got to go. I got to finish up something that needs my immediate attention." Joe said walking towards the door. I followed him there and opened the door for him. 

"All right Joe. Hope I see you later though." 

"Of course Tai. There's something evil roaming the digiworld and you'll need my help!" Joe said puffing his chest out a bit. 

"Haha. We'll see about that." I countered, laughing. I closed the door behind him and walked back to the living room. Just as I was about to take a seat, the door bell rang again and I went to answer it. This time it was a few of Kari's classmates. 

"Hi. I—I was—" I could see the girl was very nervous… her face was red and she was sweating like she ran the whole way here. A group of her friends were behind her, also waiting. 

"Do you want me to get Kari or something?" I asked, seeing that the girl was too nervous to talk. She nodded and her whole face turned red. Probably in embarrassment. The other girls around her were giggling about something. I frowned and went to get Kari.

"Kari, a few of your friends are outside waiting for you." Kari, T.K. and Davis came to the door. 

"Hi you guys!" I heard Kari say. I saw her walk back in and say, "Tai, I forgot to tell you in all the commotion, that I had a class project to do and my friends and I were planning on meeting up today. I totally forgot to tell you. I'm really sorry but I got to go. I wish I could help you find Agumon though." Kari said in a rush.

"Kari, calm down. It's ok. Go. Is T.K. and Davis going with you?" I asked. 

"Yes." 

"All right then. Go have fun!" I said, ushering her, Davis and T.K. out the door. I heard a cell phone ring in the living room and I went to see whose cell phone it was. Mimi answered it and I could hear her mom on the other end. I got up ready to show her out the door, and saw the rest of the digidestined get up to leave. 

"Tai, most of the group has gone all ready, so it's no use planning anything without them. Plus I got a gig tonight and I have to practice for it." I heard Matt say. 

"You're right." I answered back. 

"Tai, I'll come back and help you search for Agumon." I heard a voice say. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and I turned to see who it was. Sora. 

"Thanks Sora." I said. I led them all to the front entrance and said goodbye. Obviously the others were busy too. I guess it will be up to Sora and I to find Agumon. 

I closed the door once again and pressed my back against the door. I sighed, then got off the door and went to my room. I started dressing in warmer clothes when I heard the phone ring. I went into the hall and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Kamiya residence. Taichi Kamiya speaking." I listened for any response.

"……"

"Hello?" There was no response. I tried getting a response for about another minute, and then hung up because I did not hear anyone else on the other end. 

I went back into my room and continued dressing. I got my soccer bag from underneath my bed and emptied out the contents onto my bedroom floor. A soccer ball, my uniform, a water bottle, a pair of clean socks… 

I took the empty bag and filled it with a few snacks I found around my room… only god knows how old those snacks are. I took a spare sweater and a pair of sweatpants and stuffed them in the bag. I got a pair of gloves and some other necessary items and placed them in the bag. I heard the phone ring again. I placed the bag on my bed and went over to the phone in the hallway again. 

"Hello, Kamiya residence. Taichi Kamiya speaking." Again, I waited for a sound on the other end.

"……" again, there was silence. 

I tried again. "Hello??" I got no response once again. I frowned. When I did not hear any movement on the other end, I hung up the phone. I went back to my room and zipped the soccer bag closed. I took it out into the hallway and placed it by the door. I went into the kitchen to get some food but when I saw the state of the kitchen, I changed my mind and came back into the living room. I heard the phone ring once again and I started debating weather or not to pick up the phone. On the third ring, I decided to pick it up and went over to the phone. 

I went over the same routine and I still didn't get a response. I slammed down the phone only to hear it ring again. I thought it might have been broken, but when I heard it ring a second time, I had second thoughts. I picked the phone up for the fourth time in a row. 

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?????" I screamed into the phone. 

"Tai?" I heard a meek voice say on the other end. 

"Sora?" Now I felt really bad for screaming into the phone. "Sora! I'm so sorry! I thought that it was someone else and…." I just stopped trying to explain myself because I thought I would start to sound stupid to her. _'Since when did I care if I sounded stupid or not in front of Sora?'_ I thought, but before I had any other thoughts on that thought, Sora started talking.

"I'll come over in about five minutes." I heard her say. 

"All right," I replied. I put the phone back on the cradle and sat down on the couch. After what I thought was five minutes, I heard the doorbell ring and 

I got up to answer it. Upon opening the door, I saw Sora carrying her winter coat in one hand, a duffle bag in the other and Biyomon by her side standing on the ground. I ushered them in and picked my soccer bag off the floor. 

I turned around and saw Sora starting to remove her shoes. "No, no. No need to take your shoes off. We'll go to the digital world right now, if that's ok with you." I said. She nodded. I smiled, grabbed my long trench coat from the closet and went to the computer room. I heard the soft padding of Sora and Biyomon behind me and once I heard them stop walking, I pointed my digivice towards the computer screen.

"Digi-port Open!" A bright light flashed by my eyes and I closed them immediately. When I opened them again, we were back in the digital world, standing on a beach. My eyes narrowed. The beach looked familiar, but I thought nothing of it. The funny thing about it was it was snowing on the beach. The water was now ice because of the cold weather and the beach was starting to look a bit frosty. I put my jacket on. 

"Let's go and find Agumon." I said, turning towards Sora. Instead of seeing Sora I saw a big bird staring back at me. "AHHH!!" I screamed, my eyes widening as I stumbled back a few steps. I heard the bird laugh…. No…. someone behind the bird was laughing. Then Sora finally came into my view and I glared at her. 

"Sorry Tai, but it was just too funny!" she said giggling. I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to come with me on Birdramon and look for Agumon or will you be fine on your own?" I heard Sora ask. 

"I'll be fine on my own. And we do have a lot of ground to cover, so it's better if we split up and look for him." Sora nodded. "And if I'm in trouble, I have my d-terminal, I'll notify you." I said, pulling out my d-terminal to show her. 

"Ok then. I'm off." She said as Birdramon took off into the air. 

I turned around and started walking across the beach, calling out for Agumon. After a while, I started to give up. _'Agumon could be anywhere and I don't have any form of transportation to get around,'_ I thought, sulking. I wandered around the place aimlessly, with a hopeless look on my face. 

All of a sudden, I got really hot… I was burning up. It was like someone put a microscope over an ant and shined light though the microscope to see how an ant burns, but in place of the ant, it was me. I took my jacket off and finally looked at my surroundings. It was all plain, no grass, no snow, no life for miles around. _'Where am I?'_

I glanced up and saw the sun shining brightly at me. I looked back down at my feet and saw a dust-covered ground. _'I guess I'm not on the beach anymore…'_ I thought shrugging my shoulders. With my jacket in one hand and my soccer bag in the other, I continued towards the mountain up ahead. 

After what I thought was forever, I managed to climb up the mountain and saw a group of Yokomon. "Hey Yokomon!" I called out. A Yokomon turned towards me and jumped over to me. 

"I've seen you some where," it said. 

"Yes, I was here two years ago," I replied bending down to the digimon. "Listen, I'm here looking for a friend of mine, Agumon. Did he come by here?" I asked.

"Oh! The Yellow Dinosaur!" the Yokomon exclaimed. I laughed. 

"Yeah," I said. The Yokomon turned around and called out "Agumon!" I soon saw a yellow dinosaur run at me and grab my legs. 

"Tai! Tai! You found me!" I grinned. 

"Of course little buddy. You're my friend… I'd never leave you behind!" I exclaimed. I turned to the Yokomon and thanked them for taking care of Agumon and turned back to Agumon. "Let's get back to Sora and Biyomon." Agumon nodded in agreement. 

Agumon and I headed down the mountain and with every step, nearing the woods that were across from us. We walked along the forest border, not entering it but not too far from the edge of the woods either. Then I heard it. It was like the sound of a twig snapping. I stopped, my eyes narrowed and I turned around. 

"Who's there?!" I yelled out. I heard the sound again- a twig snapping- or so I thought. I frowned and walked closer to the forest entrance. Before I knew it, I saw a ball of electricity flying at me. 

My eyes widened and I tried to get my legs to move; yet they were rooted into the ground. My brain was moving over a hundred miles per hour and I thought I saw my life pass before my eyes. Then a feeling of de-ja-vu passed over me. But this time, just before the ball of electricity hit me, a metallic hand stopped it. The ball burst on impact and sent bolts of electricity flying everywhere. I was finally able to move my legs once again and I dove to the ground. 

Once I thought it was safe enough to life my head off the ground, I looked up and saw Metal Greymon standing over me. _'I thought that our digimon couldn't digivolve to champion level!'_ My eyes became as wide as two dinner plates when I saw a ball of fire, then ice, then electricity shot at Metal Greymon one after another. 

"Metal Greymon! No!" I screamed out when I saw him double over in pain. He glowed a pale yellow for a second and then in his place, I saw Agumon sprawled on the ground in front of me. I scrambled onto my feet and ran over to Agumon's side. I kneeled down beside him and placed a hand on his head and turned towards where I thought the blast came from. 

I saw a figure in black come out from the forest. It was shrouded in a black cloak, the cloak covering everything but it's eyes. I couldn't make out if it was human or digimon, or something else. 

My eyes narrowed. I stood up and got ready to give this "thing" a piece of my mind. Then I saw it. At first it was small, but then it rapidly increased in size. Something as bulging out from underneath the cloak and all of a sudden I saw a ball of fire shot towards me. It hit me straight on, hitting me in the chest, and I was sent flying backwards. 

I lifted my head off the ground and glared at my enemy. I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes all of a sudden and everything went blank for a second. I closed my eyes and opened them again, but to my horror, I saw everything red! Blood red!

*******

(chapter completed: 1/1/03) 

_Thanks to:_

**star's dreams: **Well I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I hope this chapter is long enough also! ^_^;;

**May and September Yougimori:** Thanks fore reviewing. And your welcome for that info.

**Taichi Kamiya02:** very interesting review! ^_^;;

**Tai'sgirl:** well I'm glad you liked the story so much! And don't worry, it won't be a Sorato for too long! 

**Iwish: **Thanks for reviewing again! *sweatdrops*

**BudgerigarLT:** Thanks for your review! It was really appreciated! Now I know to add more blood scenes…hehe. 

**LilacKamiya:** Thanks for the review.

**Yuki_asano:** haha….authors make you jealous? Then become an author urself! ^_^;

**BarairoElf**: do I have to say anything to you too? I see you at school too! Lol.

**Litanya:** I love Harry Potter too! Haha. Well hope this chapter makes you happy! ^_~ ….well the next harry potter movie will come out in the summer… I suspect June, but it will be before September! Haha.

**Sarika Kamiya01**: Don't kill Matt just yet!! Lol. He's still needed in the story!! haha 

Please feel free to drop off a review!! Adios!  Check for the next chapter in two or three weeks!

***********


	6. CH 6: Explanations with Tears

_Lost in the Digital World: **Explanations with Tears**_

_By: TaioraCrazedGirl_

****Now time for a commercial break**

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----**Note**: Barairo Elf needed something for a number and I do not think she has anything against Tai…

This commercial has been brought to you by, the one and only, Barairo Elf… Now back to the regularly scheduled program…

*~*~*~

I lifted my head off the ground and glared at my enemy. I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes all of a sudden and everything went blank for a second. I couldn't see anything! I closed my eyes and opened them again, but to my horror, I saw everything red! Blood red!

I closed my eyes and rubbed them with the heels of my hands. When I opened them once again, everything was still red. _Do not panic!_ I told myself. I took a few deep breaths and tried to make out what was what. I could feel my head spinning and my brain turning into mush trying to make out where everything was… not literally, but that was what I was feeling. After a minute, my eyes and brain started to adjust to the "world in red" and I could see everything just as good as when I'm seeing everything in color. I was able to make out what I thought was a digimon and saw it preparing to attack again. 

The dull headache I had intensified into a severe pounding. I clenched my teeth and my hands flew to my head. 

I heard the screeching of a bird and immediately looked up. To my amazement, there was Birdramon flying straight towards the "thing." I still have yet to find out if it is a digimon or not. Birdramon flew right into the thing in front of me and I saw it fly back a few feet. 

I felt another sensation in my chest and looked down. I saw my shirt ripped to shreds again- it was too arid and hot for a shirt anyways- and my skin burned from the attack. The burn covered pretty much my whole chest and I could see the burnt skin peeling off. Trickles of blood flowed from my wound and dripped down to the ground where it sizzled for a bit, then evaporated because of the scorching hot ground. I could feel my body starting to repair itself once again, just like it did in Gennai's house. I closed my eyes and sighed. '_I'll need another shirt…'_

I opened my eyes again and blinked a few times. It was then I realized my sight was back to normal and I could see colors again. '_What in the world is going on here?'_ I asked myself. I looked over to see how Birdramon was fairing. I had to suppress my laughter. There across from me was Birdramon, with one leg on that "thing", trying to peck its head off and the digimon, or whatever it was, twisting and squirming under Birdramon. Every time her beak went towards the ground- aimed at the enemy's head- the "thing" tried to move, but failing to do so, only moved its head to the side. 

I saw Sora approach me and I was thankful my eyesight had returned back to normal. Right now I did not feel like explaining much to her. Unfortunately, it was not my decision to make. She stopped in front of me and looked at my state. 

I heard her gasp and I followed her line of sight. She was staring at my chest. I looked down and saw my body repair itself. The burnt skin was peeling off, the blood had finally stopped, and new skin was reappearing soon after. To Sora's and my amazement, after about ten seconds, I was completely healed. Not a trace of burnt skin, or blood… not even a scar. I blinked a few times and looked up at Sora with wide eyes. I had no clue how I would explain _this_ to her. At least I did not have to explain the red eyes for now because she did not know about them. 

"Uhh… Tai…?" Sora started, but lost her voice and just pointed at my chest. 

**~Normal POV~**

Tai looked on silently, not knowing how to explain his predicament. A bird's cry grabbed the two teenager's attention and they both looked over to where Birdramon was. Birdramon had lifted herself off the ground and was now flying slightly above the ground. 

"Sora, it escaped my grasp. There was nothing I could do to stop it." Birdramon said with a deep voice. 

"It's all right Birdramon." Sora replied. Her attention went back to the enemy and she saw it walking towards them. Fortunately, before the attacker could take another step closer to them, a bright light shot up from the ground, blinding the "thing." It growled and doubled over in pain. 

"The light from my Digivice!" Tai exclaimed. 

"This isn't over!" the it growled. It picked itself off the ground and ran back into the forest. Birdramon devolved back into Biyomon and flew over to Agumon who was still lying on the ground. Agumon was in pain but could recover soon with a little bit of medication. Sora walked over to where the thing was previously, and picked Tai's digivice off the desert ground. It glowed for a split second then the screen went blank. She walked back to Tai and handed him his digivice. 

"You should really hang onto this." She said grinning at him. He just stuck his tongue out at her. 

"Do you know who that was?" Tai asked, getting serious again. Sora shook her head in response. 

"I'm probably guessing that it was a digimon." She said after a minute of contemplation. A comfortable silence enveloped them and they took a seat on the ground beside their digimon. "Tai, you said you weren't cold in Gennai's house, and you told me you'd explain it later… do you think you can explain it now?" Sora asked.

"Um… well, it's kind of hard to explain, but I'll try. You see, after I was attacked by something the other day, something happened to me. I do not know what, but I could feel my body changing… it didn't feel like my body anymore. It was as if something else had come in and had invaded my body, and was trying to take over. Instead of taking over my body, it was helping me. Whatever it was that was in my body, it healed me Sora. Otherwise, I don't think I would have made it even to Gennai's house. After I got to Gennai's house, I could feel my body slipping into an unconscious state. 

"From there I don't know what Gennai did, but I could feel my body repairing itself, faster than normal. I know it sounds funny and usually, when people get hurt, they can't feel their body mending back together… but I could. It was like pieces of my skin were forming again, like lost data coming back to me. I could feel the pieces that were missing, refilling my body. 

"And the same feeling happened today. After whatever that thing was, attacked me, the blast hit me straight in the chest. I couldn't feel anything. 

"Nothing. No pain, no aching, nothing. When I glanced down, I saw my shirt in pieces and my skin ripped off. But I soon saw new skin replacing the old. I know that should not and is not possible for regular human beings. I don't know what's happening to me." Tai said, tears filling his eyes. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his arms were wrapped around them. He looked like a frightened, little child, who knew he was in trouble, but was too scared to confess. Tai knew something was not right, but did not know what was happening to him, and he was scared. 

Sora scooted over to his side and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh Tai… we'll find an explanation to all of this… don't worry. Moreover, I do not think anything will harm you. So far, nothing's happened to you, so I'll take it as a good sign."

Tai tried to stop the tears, but they just kept coming and that just irritated Tai. He could feel his veins boiling. Here he was, almost in tears and she said that whatever has apparently inhibited his body won't harm him. _'How would she know? She does not know what I'm going through! She doesn't know the constant headaches I have, she doesn't know about my red eyes, she doesn't know about the random pains I get through my body… this isn't normal! There probably isn't an explanation for this, and she says she'll find one… ha!' _He turned to her with malice in his eyes. "What do you know?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "You don't know the pain I'm going through, you don't know about the constant headaches I have, you don't know about anything that's happening to me and you say you can find an explanation for all of this! HA! Sora, look at me! I don't even know what's happening to myself, and you're saying NOT TO WORRY!? I HAVE TO WORRY! I HAVE NO FREAKING IDEA AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!" he screamed, pushing her away from him. He stood up, his voice ragged, his breathing terse. 

Sora had a hurt look on her face. She knew Tai was in pain and tried to console him, but it just made matters worse. "Tai, I'm just trying to console you. If you don't tell me what's happening to you, then how can I help you? I am trying to help you. You know I'll be by your side, no matter what happens… but you need to let me know what's going on!" She said in a patient voice.

" YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND DO YOU!? EVEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE ME. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU!? FOR ALL I KNOW, SOMETHING MIGHT POSESS MY BODY AND KILL ME FROM THE INSIDE, OUT!" Tai hollered. His eyes were welled up with tears of frustration, his breathing laborious. A tear rolled down his cheek and at that moment Sora knew whatever Tai was screaming, he meant none of it. She could see his frustration and anger in his eyes. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his chest as her eyes filled up with tears also. 

'_I will not cry….' _Tai thought, as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Tai…" Sora whispered. She soon could feel his body racking with sobs and tear drops falling down his face. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her hair. 

"Sora…" she could hear him murmur. "I'm scared… so scared… I do not know what is going to happen to me. I could not even control myself. I'm sorry I yelled at you like that." He said, sniffling. She ran a hand through his thick, chocolate- brown hair and held him until he calmed down. 

Once he stopped crying and regained control of himself, she lifted her head off his chest and looked up at him. "Are you all right?" She whispered. 

He smiled back. "Yea. Thank you." He said, pulling back from her. He unwrapped his hands from around her and stepped away slightly. It felt nice to be in such close contact, but Tai knew it was wrong and pulled himself away. He turned his head to the side to look at how Agumon was doing. "Oh Agumon…" He said, walking over to the two digimon on the ground. Tai gently picked Agumon's beaten body off the floor and cradled him in his arms. "We better find something to help Agumon." Tai said looking at Sora. 

"Right." 

"I know some herbs that might help Agumon's wounds." Biyomon said flying over to the forest. 

"Biyomon, come back quick though. Who knows what's in that forest…" Sora said shuddering slightly. After a five-minute wait, Sora saw Biyomon returning with a few sticks, green leaves and other herbs in her claws. She placed the materials in Sora's bag and handed the bag over to Sora. 

"Let's get out of the heat." Tai said while trekking across the dessert ground. Sora and Biyomon followed behind him. They entered the forest that Biyomon entered a few minutes ago and made their way through the forest. They didn't want to stay in the same place, just incase that digimon came back to attack. 

After a while, Tai turned around and asked Sora, "Do you want to rest for a bit?" 

"Nah. I'm all right. Let's keep moving though." Sora urged on. Tai nodded and kept walking. After another hour of walking, the four were still in the forest but stopped to rest this time. "Here, I'll go get some wood." Sora said, going off a little ways to find wood to start a fire. She returned with a hand full of wood and dropped it onto the floor. 

"How are we going to start a fire?" Tai asked. Agumon was in a state where he could do nothing. 

"I can try." Biyomon said. 

"Go for it Biyomon." Sora said. 

"SPIRAL TWISTER!" Biyomon shouted. She let her attack loose and it started a big flame. Soon, the flame died down to a safer size and Tai, Sora and Biyomon moved closer to the flames. Biyomon flew off for a minute or so, but when she returned, she brought with her the shell of a coconut. 

"Here, put the herbs in the shell and grind them up." Sora grabbed her bag, opened it and took the leaves and twigs out. She placed them into the coconut shell and Tai did as Biymon said and grinded them. Once it was a powdery mixture, Tai let the coconut shell heat over the flames for a bit. 

Once the herbs were in a liquid state, he brought the shell back towards him and dipped two fingers into the silky substance. He picked some off from the shell of the coconut and applied the warm substance onto Agumon's wounds. Tai saw Agumon's face twist into one of discomfort and Tai said, "It's all right Agumon, calm down. This will help you." Once done applying the herbs on Agumon's wounds, the four of them had to wait until the liquid hardened. 

Tai rested his head against the tree trunk he was leaning against and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he fell in to a light slumber, exhausted by the day's work. Sora, who was sitting beside him, leaned against Tai and the trunk- so that she was perpendicular to him- and closed her eyes too, for a quick nap. 

When Sora opened her eyes again, she saw the sun slightly lower in the sky. She determined that it was around afternoon. _'Guess we missed lunch._' She thought. Sora gently nudged the sleeping Tai and woke him. Tai cracked his eyes open and saw Sora staring at him.

"Did I die and go to heaven?" He asked opening his eyes fully. "Nah… it can't be. You're here." He said after a minute. Sora just glared at him. 

"Very funny Kamiya. Very funny." She said. 

"Then why aren't you laughing?" Tai asked with an innocent look on his face. She just gave him a sarcastic smile and once again continued to glare at him. Tai just laughed. 

"We got to get going." Biyomon said, flying over to the two digidestined. "We can't stay in one place for too long." She flew up to a tree and perched on a high branch. Tai nodded and gently shook Agumon awake. Agumon groaned and opened his eyes. 

"Tai?" Agumon whispered. 

"Hey little buddy. Are you ok? You took one nasty fall earlier." Tai said. Agumon smiled and said he was doing all right. He tried to stand up but stumbled for a bit. "Here, how bout I carry you. You can pay me back later. Whenever I need a hand, you can carry me!" Tai said grinning. 

Sora shook her head. "Come on you two." She got up and started walking. Tai lifted Agumon off the ground and placed him on his back, as if he was going to give him a piggyback ride- which, technically speaking, he was doing. Tai started walking behind Sora as Biyomon flew on ahead. They trekked thorough the forest for a bit, at least until it was nightfall and then stopped for the night. They set up camp and once again, Sora went out to look for firewood. She brought some back and Biyomon started another fire. 

Since the digital world was changing so rapidly, Sora and Tai had to look for the nearest computer to get back to the real world. It would not be in the same place as it was before. The weather was changing constantly and so were the landmasses. 

Tai placed his duffle bag on the floor against the tree and laid down by the fire, his head resting on his duffle bag. Agumon laid down beside his partner, his head too, on Tai's duffle bag. Sora stretched out on the other side of the fire against another tree and took out some food. "Tai," She said softly. He looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. "Here." She said throwing him a can of soup and a spoon over the fire. 

"Thanks." He said when he caught it. Sora nodded, opened her can of soup and threw him the can opener. He opened his can, put it by the fire to heat up and placed the can opener by his duffle bag. 

After finishing their soup, Biyomon came down from a tree and snuggled up for some sleep. Agumon was already asleep when Tai and Sora decided to stop for the night. Sora said goodnight and let the fire go out by itself. She lied her head down on her bag and closed her eyes. It was too warm for a blanket of any kind so she did not wrap anything over her. 

Tai stared into the fire lost in his own thoughts. The 'thing' was still on his mind. Long after the three of his accompaniments were asleep, Tai felt the burning sensation again. (Tai: MY BUTT'S ON FIRE!! AHHH!! J/k… I'm not serious! ^_^) 

He closed his eyes and breathed deep. _'No, not again!'_ Tai thought desperately. He gripped his face, particularly his eyes, pressing them, hoping the pain would go away. A sharp pain shot out from the back of his eyes, making him grind his teeth- to prevent himself from screaming aloud and waking the others. Then all of a sudden, the pain stopped. He took his hands off his face and opened his eyes. 

He almost yelped at the sight. Once again, '_everything is red… Red like blood… blood red.'_ Tai thought. _'Why does this have to happen to me? I mean, isn't there anyone else out there that you can pick on God? What did I ever do to you?' _ Tai sighed. _'I can't do much about the eyes now…'_ he thought lying back down, head against the duffle bag. He looked up at the now red sky and red trees. '_Hopefully this will go by morning,'_ Tai prayed, closing his eyes. The soft breeze ruffled his hair a bit and calmed his nerves and he soon fell into a deep yet not-so-content sleep. 

A shadow crept up from behind a tree, watching the sleeping humans and digimon. It gave a malicious grin. '_All is going to plan,'_ it thought, rubbing its claws together. It walked closer to the group, careful not to step on any twigs or branches that would snap under his weight and wake the digidestined. That would not be too good now would it?

The shadow went from tree to tree, hiding behind each one for a second and then moving on to hide behind the next tree. He finally got to where he wanted to be, behind the tree that Taichi and his digimon were against, fast asleep. 

The shadow saw what he wanted hooked onto Tai's waist and looked around at the sleeping forms- making sure they were still asleep- and headed towards his goal. He took a step forward and soon after, pulled his foot back, pulling it against its chest. 

'_OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!! That hurt! What in the world did I step on?'_ The shadow asked itself. As the moonlight shone through the thick trees, he could see the light shining off a piece of metal. The shadow bent down for a closer look and saw that it was some kind of cutting gadget. '_That damn piece of …whatever it is, cut my foot!'_ The shadow screamed in his mind. 

He hopped over to Tai's side and plucked whatever he wanted off Tai's waist and gripped it in his claws. He heard some movement and muttering coming from the boy that he was standing beside. The shadow's eyes widened and he turned around ready to see a boy with eyes wide open, staring at him. However, when the shadow turned around, he saw the boy still sleeping, his arms and legs spread everywhere. Tai turned around and almost kicked the shadow in his sleep. His eyes widened as he hopped back from Tai, still clutching his leg. 

He returned to the shadows that the trees provided and disappeared from sight. The moonlight played off Tai's sleeping face, onto the can opener that was covered in blood. 

*******

(Chapter completed: 1/18/04)

BTW: Thanks for everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! I really appreciated all the reviews! Hope you liked this chapter too! ^_^ I have exams to get back to so I don't have time to thank everyone who reviewed individually. I will do that next chapter! 

Please feel free to drop off a review!! Bye!

Check for the next chapter in a month or so, around the end of March.  I have SATs coming up and I need to study for those damn tests…. *Sweatdrops*

***********


	7. CH 7: Discoveries

Lost in the Digital World (Chapter VII): **Discoveries**

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----

The moonlight played off Tai's sleeping face and onto the can opener covered in blood.

In the morning, when the sun was peeking over the clouds in the vast, open sky, Sora cracked an eye open and surveyed her surroundings. When she saw all was peaceful, she lifted her upper body onto her elbows and took a look at the boy across from her.

His eyes were closed, his chest moving up and down at a reasonable rate. From the corner of her eye, Sora saw a shine of light coming from Tai's side and she frowned. She got up with a groan and walked over to Tai's side. Rubbing her eyes of sleep, she looked at the shining object. When she got a good look at the piece of metal, she gasped. The can opener was covered in a thick, rich liquid, a few drops leading to elsewhere in the forest.

She looked sadly at the blood thinking, '_A poor animal must have gotten hurt stepping on it.'_ She walked back over to her bag, taking quick, silent steps trying not to wake Tai. Opening her bag, she looked for a roll of tissue paper. _'Gosh, I'm turning into Joe- bringing things that we don't need- but we're going back to the real world soon, so I can drop most of this stuff at home,'_ Sora thought as she ripped off a piece of tissue. She walked back over to Tai and picked the small, metal can opener off the ground wiping it clean of blood. She placed both the tissue paper and the can opener to one side of her bag and zipped it closed.

She decided to follow the tracks of blood to see whether she could find the animal that got hurt on the can opener. She stepped over Tai and followed the tracks until it came to a dead end. '_Weird…the tracks suddenly stop over at this tree. Maybe the digimon had wings and flew away.' _ She pulled her eyebrows together and walked back to the sleeping digimon and Tai.

She knelt down beside the brown haired boy and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Tai?" She just got a groan as response. "Tai, wake up," Sora whispered as she gently shook him awake.

"uhh…?" Tai said groggily, cracking an eye open. He looked at Sora though half- open eyes asking her what she wanted.

"We should look for a computer that will take us back to the real world," she whispered, giving an arm to Tai to help him up. He took her hand and hoisted himself up from the ground.

"Then let's get started," he said nodding at her. "But first give me a few minutes to wake up." He heard Sora give a small laugh. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and shook Agumon awake. Sora did the same with Biyomon, who was currently perched on the lowest branch of a tree.

Once their digimon were wide-awake and active, Sora took a non- perishable food can out from her bag and opened it. She passed one to Tai and handed him the now-clean can opener. They started eating and decided to keep moving. They could eat on the way.

The pair of humans and digimon took a turn and walked out of the forest back to the desert ground. On the road again, Biyomon flew up ahead of the digidestined to keep an eye out for any abnormalities. "Keep an eye out for any digi ports that can get us back to the real world," Sora screamed out to the rest of her companions, her eyes trailing around the place. Tai nodded as he walked behind her.

"Why are we walking out here instead of inside the forest?" Tai asked, wiping his forehead of sweat.

"Because if we are in there, we are very vulnerable to any random attacks. If we are out here in the open, a digimon can not attack us so easily out of fear of being seen," Agumon explained. Tai just shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head.

After a while of walking in the desert heat, Sora felt her shoulders sag a bit, the bag on her shoulder starting to slip off. She grabbed the bag and pulled it back onto her shoulder with a groan. She wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Seeing a flash from the corner of her eye, Sora snapped her head in that direction. "What's that?" she panted out, pointing to a shiny object in the distance.

Tai narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction she was pointing. "It looks like a-" his eyes widened. "It's a computer! Let's go," Tai shouted as he ran to the computer. He was about ten feet from the computer- Sora, Agumon and Biyomon hot on his trail- when the ground started shaking violently. Tai's eyes snapped open as his body came to a sudden halt. Unfortunately, Sora could not stop in time and crashed in behind Tai. Tai's bag flew from his hands and both Sora and Tai were sent sprawling to the ground and soon became one big mass of tangled limbs. Tai looked up and spit out a mouth full of dust.

"Where'd the computer go?" he asked as he gently nudged Sora, subtly asking her to get off. He could feel her soft breath against his neck.

She rolled off him and asked, "What are you talking about?" She looked in the direction ahead of her and saw no computer. "What in the world…" The ground finally smoothed out to a soft rumbling and then the rumbling seized to exist all together. Tai and Sora both stood up and walked over to where the computer was seen last. Agumon came behind them and picked Tai's bag up from the hot desert ground.

Tai jumped up and down a few times and then said, "Well, the computer is definitely not here any more."

"I guess that means we continue looking," Sora said. "Biyomon, what just happened?" she asked as her digimon landed on the ground beside her.

"I'm thinking that since the digital world is changing, now more than ever, a part of the digital world is being relocated or is going under a drastic change of some sort. Whenever the ground shakes like that," Biyomon said, motioning to the area around her, "something is changing. And if the place changes, everything goes with it."

"You mean if we're at some place and that place started changing, we would go where ever it goes?" Tai asked, wide eyed. Biyomon nodded. "Then we better find that computer fast."

Tai ran a hand through his hair and found that it was full of dirt and dust. '_Argh,'_ he thought to himself, as he took both his hands and vigorously brushed the dirt out of his hair. He heard quiet laughing behind him and he took a look. There Sora was, standing and watching him, both her hands over her mouth, silently laughing. He narrowed his eyes at her. "You think this is funny?" he asked.

She nodded. Tai rolled his eyes at her and walked over to Agumon. "Come on buddy. We have to find a computer soon." He continued walking along side the forest, Sora one step behind him.

----

A half hour later…

"Hey Tai?" She got no response from him. "T-ai…" she called out in a singsong sort of voice. She still did not get a response from the brown haired boy. Tai just kept on walking. Sora frowned. She ran ahead of him and stood in front of him. "Tai, why won't you answer me?"

He gave her a sharp glare and tried to walk around her. "Tai…" Sora ran back around Tai and stood in front of him once again, this time, taking a hold of his shoulders to prevent him from moving. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he barked, wincing immediately after because he said it a little harsher than intended. He glanced at her face and saw a slightly disheartened look.

"Was it about earlier? With the hair? If it is, then I'm really sorry, I didn't think you would react this way…I-" Tai cut her off by raising his hand.

"No, it's not that. I know you were joking… It's… never mind- I was just thinking about things when you called me. Forget it," he said waving her off. He looked at the ground waiting for her to remove her hands from his shoulders.

"Tai, I know something is wrong… tell me. I know it won't help you at all if you keep it bottled up inside. _You_ know it won't help either," she said, trying to persuade him into telling what was on his mind. He shook his head saying 'no.'

"I'll tell you when I'm ready. Anyways, you looked like you wanted to tell me something earlier. What is it?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yea!" Tai looked relieved. "I was going to tell you I spotted a computer back there," she said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. Tai blinked.

"Then why didn't you say so?" he admonished.

"I tried, but you weren't listening to me," she replied grinning. Tai let out a frustrated groan and started walking back in the direction they came from. He heard Sora laughing behind him. She came up to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Is it that bad being stuck here with little ol' me?" she asked, the grin still evident on her face.

Tai just shook his head once again at her. _'Little do you know, Sora, what you're doing to me.'_ "Let's just find that computer."

"Yes sir!" Sora exclaimed. She unwrapped her arm from around his shoulder and walked on ahead of him. "Let's see…" she whispered to herself. "I know it's around here somewhere… Ah ha! There it is!" Sora screamed, coming to a halt as she waited for Tai to catch up to her. He ran up to her, since he was a few feet behind her, and followed her finger to where she was pointing it, and did indeed see a computer in front of him.

"Yes!" Tai exclaimed, running up to the computer. "Let's go Sora, come on!" he called as he beckoned her over to the computer. Tai reached the computer and was just about to place a hand upon it when it suddenly disappeared. "W-what?" he spluttered out.

Sora ran up beside him, her eyes wide in wonderment too. "Oh no, the computer disappeared once again," she heard Biyomon exclaim. Tai let out a sigh and started walking in the direction they were initially headed in, when he felt the ground rumble once again.

"Not again," he groaned as he felt Sora grab onto his arm. He pulled her to the ground and made sure both of them were flat on the ground. All off a sudden, he felt his body lurch forward, into the ground- or so he thought. '_What's going on?_' It felt as if a hand grasped him by the waist and pulled him under ground. He tried to breathe but found that he could not. Tai took a look beside him and saw Sora in a similar state. Her eyes were open wide, her mouth agape. She turned her head and looked at him, giving him a horrified look. She moved her lips but he could not hear anything. By the way her lips moved he figured she was asking him what was going on. He shrugged his shoulders in response.

Tai pulled his eyes off of Sora and took a look around, his arm tightly wrapped around Sora's waist. It looked like they were in middle of space. _'It reminds me of the place where we went to fight Apocalamon,'_ Tai thought, frowning. He only saw blurs as something pulled him faster to his destination. He turned his head around and took a look behind his shoulder. He saw Biyomon trying to fly towards them, but no avail. Tai also caught a glimpse of Agumon before he felt his body being thrown onto the ground once more. _'Ground! Oh, sweet ground!'_ Tai's mind screamed, his mind now taken over by a flurry of thoughts. He frowned as he felt soft grass beneath him.

Lifting his head off the ground, he noticed Sora landed beside him, she was sitting up, rubbing her back. "That was not fun," he heard her say with a hint of what he figured was anger. He watched her as she looked around, a frown plastered on her beautiful face. "Where are we?" she asked turning towards Tai. He shrugged his shoulders as he took a look around himself. He heard Sora groan.

"Don't worry, we'll figure a way out somehow…" Tai muttered, trying to reassure himself more than Sora.

"Come on," Sora said, picking herself up off the ground. "Biyomon?" Sora got no response. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out to her digimon once again. "BIYOMON!" Sora heard a fluttering of wings and looked above her. "Ahh. Biyomon."

"Sorry Sora, I did not mean to worry you. I was taking a look around to see where we landed."

"The digital world is changing and we got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Somehow, we were sent to another part of the digital world instead of with the land piece we were on," Agumon said, finally speaking after a long time. "This is not good. If this keeps happening, then we might not know where we land next time."

"Another world perhaps?" Sora offered.

"Maybe," Biyomon replied.

Tai got a fearful look on his face. "Then we definitely have to find a computer fast. Before we get sent to another world would be good."

A shrill noise filled the air and Tai's head shot up, his eyes wide in wonderment. He took a look as to what was flying overhead and his jaw dropped. He was staring right into the face of BlackWarGreymon. Tai rubbed his eyes in shock and looked back at the skies once again. "What the… Sora did you see that?"

"See what?" Tai turned towards Sora and saw her still scanning the skies for the noise.

"It was BlackWarGreymon. You mean to tell me you did not see him?"

"I did not see him Tai. Are you sure he flew over head just now?" Tai nodded. Sora shrugged. "Must have missed him. But it's very rare to see him wandering around anymore," she said. Tai nodded once again. "Let's get going shall we?" Sora asked Tai, offering him a hand.

He brushed off her offer and stood up himself, brushing the pieces of grass off his clothes. Sora lowered her hand back down to her side and started following Biyomon and Agumon- who all ready got a head start on the two teenagers. Tai followed behind Sora, letting out a soft sigh.

They continued walking for a while, that is until Tai doubled over in pain all of a sudden, gripping his head. He squatted down, holding his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs.

"Tai?" Sora whispered, carefully making her way over to her friend.

Tai let out a blood curling scream and fell onto his knees, his hands flat on the ground. Sora's eyes widened and she rushed over to his side. She placed her hands on his shoulders and tried to lift him off the ground. She felt his body heat up. "Biyomon! Go fetch some water!" she screamed. Biyomon nodded and flew off as Agumon just watched helplessly. He knew he could not do anything for Tai because he himself did not know what was going on with his friend.

"Tai," Sora whispered out. Tai's screams finally stopped, but now he was moaning in pain. His head was placed on the ground; his forehead touching the soft grass and his fists were clenched tightly. "Tai, we have to get out of here. Come on," Sora pleaded. She tried to lift him off the ground once again, but to no avail. She head Tai let out a sharp growl and he turned his head towards her.

Sora gasped as she took a look at his eyes. His face was contorted into one of anger and pain, but his eyes were what caught her attention. They were a light, chocolate brown color. Yet when she took a closer look, she could swear she saw his eyes turn bright red, and then immediately turned back to a milky brown. She blinked as she leaned back from Tai in shock. She took another look and saw his eyes flash red once again.

"Tai?" she asked incredulously.

"It's me," he said through gritted teeth. "But at the same time, it isn't me."

"Are you all right? We can figure out what's going on with you later, but now we need to get you help."

"There is nothing that can help me," Tai said.

"What? There has to be. How do you know for sure?"

"I know. Believe me. This isn't something that there is a cure for if you go to a doctor… even Gennai didn't know what was going on with me."

"Fine then. Here," Sora said as she gently grabbed onto Tai's arms and helped him sit against the trunk of a tree. Tai took in a few deep breaths and waited for the pain to subside. Biyomon was heard landing a few feet away, water sloshing against the sides of a bucket she had found. She released the bucket from her beak, placing it gently on the ground in front of Sora. Sora grabbed her bag and ran back to Tai. She unzipped the bag and took out an old shirt she had placed in the bag some time ago, and ripped a piece off the bottom of it. Tai let out a groan of protest but felt too exhausted to say anything.

Sora folded the piece of cloth in her hand and dipped it into the bucket of cold water. She took it out, water droplets dripping off the cloth, and she wiped Tai's face. The cool water refreshed him, his body temperature slowly decreasing as the cool water started to soak into his skin. Sora wringed the towel out on the grass, and then dipped the cotton clothe once again in the bucket. She washed Tai's arms and then finally placed the cool cloth on his forehead.

She saw him close his eyes and he let out a soft moan. He cracked his eyes open and looked around him. Tai whimpered out a soft no and closed his eyes again.

"Tai? What's wrong?" Sora asked softly. Tai shook his head at her.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he said in a stern tone. He screwed his eyes closed tightly, not wanting to open them.

"Tai, look at me… Taichi?" Sora grasped the sides of his face and turned him so that he was facing her. "Tai," she said in a slightly forceful tone.

Tai didn't respond. His eyes were still screwed shut. He relaxed under her touch but did not open his eyes. He heard Sora sigh after a minute and he cracked his eyes open so that he was looking at the grass below him. '_Still red… great,'_ Tai thought bitterly. He did not want to explain the eyes to Sora just yet. He pulled his face out of Sora's hands and turned his head off to the side.

"Tai-" Sora was cut off by a loud buzzing noise up ahead but he could hear her irregular breathing. His eyes shot open and was glad to see Sora staring up at the sky and not at him for the time being.

'_Over all of this noise, how can I hear Sora breathing?'_ He frowned and looked up into the sky, catching a glimpse of some migrating digimon. He looked back down at Sora after a minute and was, at first, surprised to see her staring at him, her mouth agape. Then it finally hit him. '_Oh no… my eyes!'_ He gulped visibly and just stared back at Sora, unsure of what to say to her.

Sora did not say anything for quite a while and Tai finally got fed up with the silence. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"What's there to say? Your eyes are red, you get these random aches over your body, and you get splitting headaches… I'm not sure what to say…" Sora started, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times before she finally closed her mouth completely.

Tai sighed. "There's an explanation for all of this… or I hope there is one. I know I _defiantly_ want an explanation of this." He opened his eyes and still saw Sora bathed in a red light.

"How does it feel?" Sora asked tentatively.

"It does not hurt if that's what you're asking. Well, it happens right after I get a splitting headache. Then the whole world turns red. It started happening during the night. Now it's just getting worse, and everything is red… even you," Tai explained.

"Maybe if we get back to the real world it might go away. You know, it just might be the digital world that's having this effect on you," Sora offered. Tai nodded.

"Maybe you're right about that." After a second he added, "let's hope you're right on that."

They got up from the grassy floor, Tai stumbling around a bit because of his vision. Sora grabbed onto his arm and held it tight as he got his balance back again. Once he got back on his feet, he felt Sora let go of his arm and walked off in front of him. Agumon came to his side and walked by him, making idle chat along the way.

He finally heard Sora stop- she was a good yard ahead of him- and turn around. He saw her beckoning him and he ran over to her side. "What is it?" he panted out.

"Look!" Sora exclaimed. He followed her line of sight and realized she had found them a way out of the digital world. His face lit up once again with a smile.

"Sora, you're a genius!" Sora grinned at him and then ran over to the computer. She placed a hand on the monitor, praying it does not disappear this time. Thankfully it didn't and she took out her digivice and pointed it at the screen. She waited for about a minute and felt a hand clamp down onto her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Tai standing behind her, looking over her shoulder, his red eyes staring intently at the computer screen. The computer let out a small 'ding' indicating that the digital port to the real world was now open.

Sora turned back around and looked for Biyomon. After spotting her beside her leg, Sora said, "Are we ready?" She got a 'yes' from her companions and was immediately sucked into the digital port, Biyomon, Agumon, and Tai right behind her.

Sora found herself in her room once again, Tai, Biyomon, and Agumon sprawled out on her bedroom floor along with her. She watched as Tai groaned and lifted himself up onto his knees, rubbing his head with the palm of one hand. The other hand helped support his weight. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, then grinned. "The red is gone!" She heard him exclaim. He turned towards Sora and smiled at her. She smiled back and got off the ground, picking her bag up with her. She placed it in her closet and opened her room door.

"Come on, let's get you back home," she said looking at Tai and Agumon. Tai got off the floor and walked over to her with a slight bounce in his step. Sora could see that he was happy to be back home and she was happy for him. It was still bright outside as Sora opened the front door and allowed Tai and Agumon to pass through. She grabbed the keys off the key holder, which was beside the door, and closed the door behind her as she stepped out.

"I do have to say I'm exhausted, but some fresh air will do me some good," Sora said as she walked along side Tai back to his apartment complex.

"Well," Tai started, as a causally wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I'm glad it just wasn't me who was lost back there in the digital world."

Sora feigned a hurt look. "Are you saying you wanted to put me through all that trouble too? And by the way, you do have to explain those red eyes," she added quickly.

"No, no… that's not what I'm saying. It's just reassuring to know I'm back, but I know now I'm not going insane, thinking the digital world is whacked."

"You're not insane Tai. Maybe dense, but not insane," Agumon said with a slight chuckle. Tai glared at the little critter but kept walking. They turned the corner at the end of the street and saw a couple not too far from where they were. Sora and Tai kept walking, unaware of who was at the end of the street.

As they neared the couple that was currently kissing under a tree, Tai could make out a shot of yellow hair and another head of brown. Tai's eyes widened as he realized who it was and tried to slow Sora down, but unfortunately, she caught sight of the kissing couple and completely stopped, her eyes wide in shock and her mouth hanging open. "What…"

Tai immediately pulled his red haired friend away from the sight.

_'Matt?'_ Tai thought, his eyes blazing with rage. _'You have some major explaining to do to me the next time we meet. Just be glad I'm not feeling well right now…'_ As if Matt could hear Tai's thoughts, he pulled himself away from the girl quite reluctantly and glanced around the area.

Matt's eyes landed on Tai and Sora, luckily Sora's back was facing them so she could not see what was going on. But he saw Tai glaring daggers at him and Matt took in a deep breath. He shot a sad glance over at Sora, nodded at Tai, giving him a small smile, then walked away from the scene, leaving the girl at the tree.

The girl, unsure about what just happened, slowly slid down the tree, her eyes wide open in shock. "Matt?" she silently called out.

Tai took a look at the girl now that he could finally see her. "Jun?" Tai exclaimed. He felt Sora immediately turn in his arms to glance at the brown haired girl. She knitted her eyebrows together in wonder.

"I swear I just saw Matt a few seconds ago," she said, still deep in thought.

"No my dear, you were just seeing things," Tai chuckled as he put his arm around her shoulder and walked over to Jun. '_Well, if it was Jun that Matt was kissing, that would explain a few things. Maybe it isn't all his fault. I'll have to clear up all this mess… great,'_ Tai thought bitterly.

"Nice seeing you Jun," Tai called out as Sora and himself passed the still startled girl. She nodded absentmindedly, waving her hand at them.

"Come on Sora," Tai said, walking over to his apartment.

As they walked to Tai's apartment, the two old friends talked about anything that came to mind just to pass the time.

They soon arrived in front of Tai's apartment and he shuffled through his bag to get his keys.

"One thing I'm glad of is I didn't loose my bag in the digital world," Tai said as he opened his font door. Sora subconsciously nodded in response and gave him a grin. Tai kicked the front door open and placed his bag just inside the apartment.

"It has been a very long day, hasn't it?" Sora said as she let out a sigh. Tai gave her a small smile.

He placed both his hands in his pant pockets and shuffled his feet around, unsure of what else to say to her. All of a sudden, he felt an empty space in his pocket, as if something should have been there, but was not. He knitted his eyebrows together in wonder and searched his pockets once more.

Sora, taking notice of his abrupt movements, asked him what the matter was. "It feels like something is missing, but I don't know what it is. I can't place my finger on it…"


	8. CH 8: The Winged Beast

A/n: I'm so sorry for the delay… more like a complete stop in updating. Life has been taking a toll on me and I just had a really bad case of writer's block. I didn't know where to the story from here so I needed some time off from writing just to organize my thoughts. I've started on the next chapter so hopefully it should be out in two weeks. Again, I'm sorry for the like 2-year gap in chapters!

**Lost in the Digital World (Chapter VIII): The Winged Beast**

-----

"Sick of your current destination? Need to get away from the chaotic movement of the world? Is your world not even technically "real"? Well then you should find your nearest computer and hop on the Digi Portal Express! Catch the computer before it vanishes and you won't even have to pay for the trip! Of course... that may be easier said than done... but what a deal if you do!"

------

They soon arrived in front of Tai's apartment and he shuffled through his bag to get his keys.

"One thing I'm glad of is I didn't loose my bag in the digital world," Tai said as he opened his font door. Sora subconsciously nodded in response and gave him a grin. Tai kicked the front door open and placed his bag just inside the apartment.

"It has been a very long day, hasn't it?" Sora said as she let out a sigh. Tai gave her a small smile.

He placed both his hands in his pant pockets and shuffled his feet around, unsure of what else to say to her. All of a sudden, he felt an empty space in his pocket, as if something should have been there, but was not. He knitted his eyebrows together in wonder and searched his pockets once more.

Sora, taking notice of his abrupt movements, asked him what the matter was. "It feels like something is missing, but I don't know what it is. I can't place my finger on it…"

"Don't let it worry you Tai. It's probably nothing," Sora said, trying to reassure the boy.

Tai nodded. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right!" Sora laughed as she stuck out her chest in a proud fashion.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Hey Agumon," Tai said to his little friend who was falling asleep on the door step, "Why don't you head in and take a nap on the couch or something? If someone sees you out here, they might get a bad impression of me…"

Agumon, glaring at Tai, pulled himself off the floor and waited for Tai to open the front door. Once open, the little critter pushed the door open and immediately dropped dead asleep on the couch. After a few seconds, Tai continued. "Anyways, I'd better get some rest. You should too. You look completely wiped out. How about this, I'll meet you tomorrow morning and we can go over what happened from the beginning?" he asked, with a slightly pleading look in his eyes.

Sora smiled and nodded. "That's fine with me. I'll come over, maybe around, say… eight o'clock?"

"Alright. See you then!" Smiling, Sora turned and walked down the hallway to the elevators. She pushed the down button and waited for the elevator to come. Turning back, she took one more glimpse at Tai, just to reassure herself. Tai saw her turning back and he gave her a big smile. Sora chuckled and turned back around when she heard the elevator doors opening. Getting inside, she took the elevator to the first floor and exited the apartment building.

Once Sora was a safe distance away from his apartment, Tai opened the apartment door and walked in. He slipped out of his dirty shoes, making a note to himself that he should wash them when he has time. Taking a quick look around the small apartment, he realized that the rest of his family was out. '_Thank god they're not here, cause I can't deal with them right now…'_ Dragging his bag behind him, the brown haired boy pulled himself into his room and onto his bed. He let go of the bag strap, letting the bag fall to the floor with a soft 'thump.' Tai placed his head on his pillow, sighed and closed his eyes, placing an arm over his eyes to block out excess light. Pulling the blanket, which was placed at the end of his bed, over his legs, the unruly haired boy fell into a somewhat disturbed sleep.

A few hours later, the Kamiya apartment door opened with a small creak and a tall man with chocolate brown hair and a few streaks of gray here and there, walked into the apartment he called 'home', with a few grocery bags in each hand. He held the door open with his foot while his wife walked in with some more groceries and placed them on the counter. The man let go of the door and followed suite as he too placed the groceries on the kitchen counter. Walking around the table, he grabbed his wife by the waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

She giggled softly and then muttered, " I wonder where Tai and Kari could be."

Rubbing the woman's shoulders, the man replied, "Don't worry about them, they're old enough to take care of themselves. And plus, they also have those digimon to watch over them…" "See? There's one sleeping on the couch right now," he finished, pointing over to the couch.

"What?" the woman shouted out in a harsh whisper. "Isn't that Tai's digimon? Then if he is here, that must mean that Tai is home too." She walked over to the bedroom closest to the kitchen and saw that the door was slightly ajar. She pushed the door open, trying not to make too much sound. Looking around the messy bedroom, she spotted her son sleeping like a baby, on his bed. She quietly closed the door and walked back to her husband. "Well, Tai is fast asleep and so is… what's his name again?" After a couple of seconds, she said, "Oh yes, Agumon. They must have had a rough day if they are completely wiped out like this."

Tai's father nodded unconsciously, not paying much mind to what his wife was saying. He grabbed his wife by the waist once more and led her off to their bedroom for some quiet time together.

"But wait, what about the groceries? The milk will spoil if we let it out for too long."

Placing a finger over his wife's lips, he said, "Shh… it's all taken care of… When you went to check up on Tai, I put all the groceries away. So, for a couple of hours, forget about everything else." He closed the door with his foot and turned to lock it. Turning back to his wife, he gently pushed her down onto the bed and climbed up to lay beside her.

-----

Kari placed her 5mm camera carefully into her backpack and turned back to the instructor once again. Quickly jotting down her homework in a book, she placed the tiny book into her bag, closed the bag and then slung it over her shoulder. Waving goodbye to one of her classmates, she walked out to the front of the school and exited through the two, huge glass doors. She saw a boy with a white hat standing by the bike rack near the school entrance. As soon as she came in view of the boy, he waved to her and Kari went running over.

"Hey T.K. What are you doing over at school?" Kari asked as she bent down to unlock her bicycle from the bike stand. She fished out the keys from her pocket and with a small 'click,' the bike lock was off the bike.

"Tai told me you were taking a photography class over the summer and since it was at school, I decided to come by and see you… Since I'm not doing much right now." T.K. said, placing a nervous hand behind his head. He looked at the ground not wanting Kari to see the slight blush that grazed his face.

"That's sweet T.K. Thanks." Kari said, leaning over towards T.K. She pecked him on the cheek and then giggled slightly. Pulling her bike out of the bike rack, she then asked, "So, do you want to get a bite to eat? I'm kind of hungry seeing that I did not have much for breakfast today."

T.K. nodded and quietly walked beside her for a while. "Any places in mind?" he asked.

"Not particularly… just somewhere where I can fill my stomach… That's all I care about right now…" After a couple of minutes, Kari muttered out, "Gosh, I'm starting to sound a lot like Tai ..."

T.K. laughed at that.

"Hey, how about this place?" T.K. asked. They were standing in front of a big fast food place with people running in and out of the building.

"Sure, I guess." Kari said as she rolled her bike over to the nearest bike stand. Unclasping the chain, she once again chained her bike to the rack and walked in to the building with T.K.

"Hey Takeru," a young girl called out from the counter she stood behind.

"Hi Cindy," T.K. called out as he walked up to the counter.

"So is it the usual?" she asked with a bright smile on her face.

"Um… sure… yea, the usual."

Kari gave him a weird look and then ordered her food. Once the girl took both their orders, T.K. and Kari seated themselves at a near-by table.

"So, how's your photography class coming?" T.K. started, trying to start a conversation.

"It's interesting, I guess. There are quite a few quirky people in my class, but besides them, it's really nice," Kari started, but was interrupted by the waiter who stopped by.

"Here is your drinks and food," he stated, as he placed the large tray on the table. T.K. muttered a thank you and turned his attention back onto the brown haired girl sitting in front of him.

"So… you were saying…"

"Right… There are a few weird people in my class. Like, for example, there is this guy who just sits there and takes pictures of girls the whole class period. I really hope the teacher will do something about him because it is starting to annoy me," she ended, with a fierce look on her face. "And there is also another group of girls, who are obsessed with their looks… like today, we went out for a nature hike, taking pictures of the wilderness and such, and these girls, as stupid as they can be, since they did not have a mirror with them, they started taking pictures of themselves with their digital camera and used that like their mirror." T.K. started to laugh.

"I'd like to meet these people. They'd keep me entertained for hours," T.K. said between laughs. Kari giggled a little and then started to dig into her food.

After a minute of silence, "Gosh, you really must be hungry," T.K. said, taking a look at her eating style. It was almost as bad as Tai's. Kari giggled sheepishly and slowed down a bit. T.K. smiled and unconsciously continued to stare at the girl in front of him. Kari, feeling slightly uncomfortable, looked up and met a pair of baby blue eyes staring back at her.

"Is there anything wrong T.K.? You're not eating your food," said Kari, pointing at T.K.'s full plate of food.

"Oh!…" T.K. said, snapping out of his revere with a slightly panicked look on his face. "No, no, everything's fine," he said as he started to shove food into his mouth. He stopped for a minute to chew and then started taking smaller bites while glancing at Kari every now and then.

"Um… Davis emailed me the other day," Kari started as she wiped her mouth of any stray crumbs of food. She then rested her back against the seat waiting for T.K. to finish his food.

"Oh? What did he say?" T.K. asked eagerly. "Is he having a good time?"

"He sure is!" Kari continued, laughing. "Apparently, this girl over there has taken an interest in him and is following him around over there…" Kari leaned over the table a bit and whispered out the last part, "and he even said she was cute!" T.K.'s mouth fell open as he gaped in amazement for a few seconds, and then laughed along with Kari, mainly in relief, thinking to himself that he will finally have a chance with Kari now.

"Wow… who would have thought some American girl would fall for our weird Davis?" T.K. asked out loud. "Oh, how is his cooking skills coming along?"

"Well, he said that he's getting better everyday and that many people over there like his noodles actually," Kari said with a thoughtful look on her face. "He even said that he would make us some when he came back to Japan."

"Interesting. Well, I would imagine that they would have great cooking facilities over in America too. And plus, didn't he say he had a cousin living over there?" asked T.K.

Kari nodded. "Yup. He's staying with his cousin, who apparently has a big crush on Jun, actually…" Kari made a face at the end of her statement. Shaking his head giving a weird look to no one in particular, T.K. stood up and gave his hand out towards Kari.

"Ready to go?" he asked as Kari took his hand and stood up.

"Yup!" she said as T.K. and her walked out of the fast food place.

"Oh T.K.!" The blonde haired boy stopped walking and turned around when he heard his name being called.

"Hey Cindy, what's up?" he asked, trying to be polite.

"Um," the girl started as she placed a lock of golden brown hair behind her ear out of nervousness. "I was wondering if you were free this Friday?" she asked as she looked towards her feet.

"Oh, um… I'm not quite sure… my brother might be coming home, but if he's not, then I will definitely call you and let you know… How's that?" T.K. asked, trying to let the girl down easily. Cindy looked up into T.K.'s eyes and smiled.

"Sure, I'll be waiting for your call," she said as she floated back to the cash register as if she were on cloud nine. T.K. chuckled as he watched her giggle with her friends behind the counter. Shaking his head he ran to catch up with Kari who had already unclasped her bike and was waiting by the sidewalk.

"What was that about?" she asked him when he came out of the building.

"Oh nothing. This girl who I think has a crush on me wanted to know what I was doing Friday."

"Then you should go out with her… You might actually like her! You never know!" Kari giggled as she elbowed him in the side.

T.K. smiled and gave a fake laugh. "Ha ha…" he said as he glared at her playfully. "No… I just see her as a good friend and nothing more. Besides," T.K. leaned over a bit, towards Kari, "there's someone else that I already like," he finished as he took in the sent of her hair.

"Oh? And who might this be?" Kari asked suspiciously.

"Eh? Hahah… like I will tell you!" the blonde haired boy said mischievously, as he looked straight into Kari's chocolate brown orbs. Kari instantly felt a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach and started to squirm under the intense glare of her friend.

Breaking eye contact, she then promptly said, "Let's get going, you know how my parents get when I'm not home when I say I will be." Sighing quietly, T.K. followed the brown haired girl towards her home, seeing as his apartment was a couple of blocks down from hers. After seeing her off to her apartment, T.K. started walking quickly back home. He ran up the flight of stairs, seeing as the elevator was taking too long, pushed the door open with such force that it made a loud 'bang' that reverberated off every wall in the apartment, and threw himself onto the couch in the living room.

"ARGGHHHH!" he screamed out as he hit his face repeatedly with a couch pillow.

"Hey, what's the matter little bro?" a lithe, blonde haired man asked as he walked into the living room from the kitchen. Sighing, T.K. sat up and placed the pillow by his side. Mumbling a soft 'nothing', T.K. got up and walked over to his room, closing the door behind him. T.K.'s brother, with a confused look on his face, speaking to no one in particular, asked, "was it something I said?"

------

Kari juggled through her backpack looking for her keys. Once she found them, she opened the door and walked inside, carefully making sure to take off her shoes before walking over to her room. She found the house oddly quiet as she opened her room door. Glancing back at the front door, she took note of her parents' shoes as well as her brothers and wondered where they could be. She heard a weird noise emitted from her parents bedroom and decided to check it out. Tiptoeing to her parents' room, she tapped on the door lightly before she attempted to open it. Luckily, her parents had locked the door before getting down to business so Kari was not able to get inside. Frowning, she placed an ear on the door and listened carefully for the noise. The brown haired girl heard a couple of words muttered between two people and then heard a small moan. Eyes widening, she realized that her parents were in the bedroom doing… what, she did not want to think about.

Dashing back into her room, Kari shut the door behind her and saw her furry little friend napping on her pillow. Kari reached out to pet Gatomon, but quickly retracted her hand as she heard the cat like digimon hiss violently in her sleep. Kari watched helplessly as Gatomon stretched out her paw and extended her retractable claws as she slashed at an invisible enemy in the air.

"Gatomon," Kari tried to call out, knowing fully well that if she tried to wake up the digimon with force, that this furry feline will strike back. "Gatomon!" Kari tried shouting. Sighing, the chestnut haired girl walked over to her closet, pulling out a pair of capris and a small shirt. She quickly changed and then placed her attention back onto Gatomon. Seeing the white cat finally calm down, Kari tentatively placed a hand upon her small body and gently nudged her awake.

"Hey sleepy head, wake up," Kari said in a shaky tone, hoping that her digimon will not attack her. Kari jumped back as the cat- like digimon made an abrupt movement, but calmed down when she saw Gatomon uncurling, her bright yellow eyes slowly opening up. Gatomon stretched her body, trying to move her stiff joints, and gave a loud yawn as she looked over at Kari.

"What's wrong Kari?" she asked as she stared into her friend's face.

"Nothing, just wanted company," the quiet girl muttered as she flopped down onto her bed. Miko, the house cat, chose that moment to come strolling into Kari's room. The tabby colored cat jumped onto the bed and quietly laid down on Kari's stomach. Gatomon hissed at the other cat and jumped onto the bed, trying to threaten the other cat. Kari laughed and patted Gatomon's head to reassure that it was all right.

"What's the matter Kari?" the smaller feline asked as she stretched out onto the bed.

Kari sighed and turned onto her side, her bright brown orbs staring deep into the wall across from her, making her seem as if she were trying to see through the wall onto the other side. "I'm just a little confused about my feelings for T.K. and Davis, is all."

Gatomon nodded and smiled a smile that said I- know- you- all- too- well. "Ok, well, I say that you just forget about the two of them and look for some food that both of us can eat now," she replied.

"You never stop thinking about you're stomach do you Gatomon?" Kari laughed as she lifted herself off the bed and walked to the door that blocked her view to the rest of the apartment. As she made her way out of the room, she heard Tai snoring loudly in the room beside hers. She rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen, her digimon following her in.

"So what do you want for lunch?" Kari asked, turning her innocent and light-hearted gaze onto her feline friend.

-----

Tai moaned in his sleep, as he felt a prickling sensation shoot through his back. His eyes were revealed to the world once again as he arched his back in pain. His eyes shot open, becoming as wide as dinner plates, when a sudden sensation came over him. Panting, he rolled over onto his stomach, to ease the pain off his back.

"Agumon," Tai wheezed out. He got no reply. "Agumon!" he said a little louder with a little more difficulty. He finally saw his friend's orange head reveal himself from under Tai's bed.

"What's wrong Tai?" his furry friend asked him.

"Agumon, get my digivice and the d-terminal," Tai panted out, his voice heavy with strain. Agumon, noting the gravity of the situation, immediately started looking for Tai's digivice. On his way, he found the d-terminal and placed it beside Tai's head.

He turned back around to glance at his friend as the orange dinosaur heard his friend moan in pain. He knew Tai was suppressing his screams, trying not to worry the rest of his family. Sweat was starting to form on the sides of Tai's face, his brown orbs closed tightly once again. Agumon looked high and low, but could not find the small device anywhere.

"Tai, I can't find it," he said sadly.

"Then get Kari's!" Tai yelled out in frustration. Agumon, a little taken back at first, understood Tai's pain, and immediately went to fetch Kari's digivice. He knew the brown haired girl always had it in her backpack so he quickly took it without anyone noticing and ran back into Tai's room.

Lifting himself off the bed with great difficulty, Tai sat down on his bed in an upright position, holding the d-terminal in his shaking hands. He grabbed the digivice and opened a portal that would lead him to a secluded place in the digital world.

"Digiport Open," the brown haired teenager growled out as a searing pain ripped through his back. Agumon grabbed the back of Tai's shirt not a moment to soon as he too found himself falling onto the hard floor of the digital world.

As soon as Tai felt his body hit the hard earth that covered the digital world, he let out a heart-wrenching scream as his back was stabbed with a sharp knife over and over again. Or so it seemed to the brown haired boy.

After an hour of thrashing, screaming, and pulling his hair out, Taichi's screams slowly subsided into small whimpers and groans as he lied face down in the ground, his back exposed to the world. Small slits could be seen forming on top of his shoulder blades, around half a foot in size. Taichi grinded his teeth together, preventing himself from screaming again. He had a feeling that if he screamed any more, he would permanently loose his voice from all the noise that he made. He curled up in a fetal position and arched his back over as he felt something move inside him.

Agumon could only look at Tai suffering, feeling completely helpless. He knew anything he tried to do in this situation would not help; this was something Tai had to handle on his own. It was his battle to face alone. He heard Tai's screams die down to small groans and gasps. "Tai?" the orange digimon asked tentatively. He closed his eyes in worry, but when he opened them again, he was greeted with a sight like no other.

There was Tai, lying before him, hunched in a fetal position, but the one thing different about him was that he was now sporting a pair of beautiful, pure white wings from his back. They were almost as big as Garudamon's wings… ok, so he was exaggerating a little bit, but if folded up, it would be a little taller than Tai himself.

"Agumon," Tai panted out.

"I'm here Tai," Agumon said, running over to his friend.

"Thanks buddy," Tai whispered with a small smile gracing his face, his eyes half open. He let his eyes drop down, feeling himself fill with exhaustion. "Sora…" he whispered out as he felt himself slip into the velvety darkness. There, Tai lied in all his glory, lying face down on the ground, his wings spread out about him on the hard ground. Agumon was careful not to step on the shiny white feathers as he slowly dragged Tai's body into the shade of the big trees in the background.

Once Tai was safely hidden between the trees from any wandering eyes, Agumon walked up close to Tai's wings and took a part of left wing in his paw. "Wow, it's so soft," Agumon muttered as he stroked the wing a little longer. As he heard Tai giving a couple of soft groans behind him, Agumon placed his wing gently back on the ground and picked up Kari's digivice between his claws. '_I need to contact someone and ask them to help Tai. I can't do this on my own,'_ Agumon thought to himself as he looked down at the small machine in the palm of his claws. Using one of his long nails, he pushed a small button the on the side of the digivice that alerted the other digivices.

-----

On the other side of the digital world, a loud beeping noise made it's way out from an under ground cavern. "What is this blasted noise?" a dark figure roared out, the floor beneath him shaking violently as though it was frightened by this ominous power. A slim figure shimmered in beside this dark lord and go down onto one knee as he bowed down to his master.

"I am sorry master, it seems to be coming from the digivice we have confiscated from the digidestined of courage," the slim, hooded figure replied.

"Make it stop!" the master grumbled out as he grabbed the digivice from his subordinate's hand and threw it against the cave wall. The small piece of machinery quieted down immediately and was now sporting a small crack on the front of it.

The tall, ominous figure then took a seat, once again, on his 'throne' like chair. He extended his hands out in such a manner that his fingertips were now barely touching the ground, and then released small thread like wires from the tips of his fingers. These small, clear wires penetrated the ground and went into the heart of the digital world. Through these various wires, the Master could see the happenings of the digital world and was slowly able to create and destroy pieces of the digital world through his own power.

As the Master's eyes slowly turned to a pure black, his irises completely disappearing from view, his minion quietly whispered, "Now if you will excuse me Master, I shall be taking my leave," and then quietly shimmered out, leaving his master in peace.

-----

Sora was fast asleep on her bed when she was jolted awake by a loud beeping noise coming from the dresser located across from her bed. "What is it now?" Sora grumbled as she slowly got up from her bed and walked over to her digivice. She examined it and found that it was Kari's digivice that was sending the signal and it was coming from the digital world. Slightly confused, Sora decided to go to the digital world and check things out. Opening the digiport on her computer once again, she gave a soft whistle and biyomon came flying into the room.

"We're going to the digital world," Sora said quickly as she was sucked into the digital world, biyomon- hot on her trail. Once she landed in the digital world again, she looked at her digivice and saw that Kari's distress signal was not far from where Sora landed. Getting up and brushing the soft dirt off of her clothes, she started walking in the direction of where Kari's digivice was located, Biyomon, flying right above her partner. '_I think it will take roughly half an hour to get there. I hope Kari's okay,_' Sora thought, slightly worried. Biyomon, aware of her friend's state, reassured her by saying, "don't worry Sora, I'm sure Kari is fine. After all, she has Gatomon with her, and knowing Gatomon, she'll put up one hell of a fight before going down." Sora gave a soft smile to indicate that she was reassured and continued walking.

A couple minutes later, Sora glanced back down at her digivice and was surprised to see another signal right on top of Kari's, meaning that some other digidestined had already reached Kari before she did. "Thank god," Sora uttered out.

"What is it?" Biyomon asked, curiosity filling her voice.

"There's another signal along with Kari's now, I think it's Matt's…" Sora said, relief filling her voice.

"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about. Matt is with her now." Sora nodded her head and continued on her journey.

-----

Yamato was on his way to band practice when he heard beeping from his digivice. "It better be something really important," Matt growled out as he took his digivice out of his pocket and glanced at it quickly. He saw Kari's pink dot flashing on the screen, alerting him to the danger she was in… or so he thought. Matt then proceeded to take out his d-terminal and quickly sent a message to the rest of the digidestined saying he'll go check out the digital world and see if anything has happened to Kari and would send word back if he needed any help. The rest of the digidestined, except for Kari, Tai and Sora, got his message and stayed put in the real world. Of course, Kari had no idea of what was going on; she was off in her own world, talking to Gatomon about T.K. and Davis, in the confines of her room. Sora of course was already in the digital world by this time and had left her d-terminal in her room and only had her digivice and biyomon with her.

Matt found a near by computer lab and asked if they had any computers available. The man at the desk pointed to one in the back corner of the room and Matt thanked him and ran over to the computer. _'Sorry I can't bring you Gabumon, but for me to go all the way home and then go to the digital world, it might take too long… and if any thing happens to Kari, TK and Tai will kill me!'_ Matt pointed his digivice at the computer and a digital portal opened up immediately and took him to the digital world.

Matt looked around at his surroundings and found himself on some rough ground. He stood up and brushed the hard dirt off his pants and looked at his digivice to find Kari's signal. He saw that Kari was not too far away from him, maybe a couple feet away and then spotted Sora's dot on his digivice, moving closer to where he was by the second. "It looks like it's going to take her a while to get here though," Matt said to himself. _'That's the problem with the digiports now; you never know where you end up when you get sucked into the digital world. Something strange is going on around here…'_

Matt turned around and looked toward the forest as he heard a soft rustling sound come from there. He walked a little closer to the forest and prepared himself for what might be behind those trees.

Agumon poked his head out from behind the shrubbery and spotted a shock of yellow hair and blue eyes staring back at him. "Matt! Thank god you're here!" Agumon yelled out as he ran towards the blonde haired man. "Something is happening to Tai… I don't know what's happening to him and was worried… one minute he was fine, the next minute he was screaming like there is no tomorrow!" Agumon said in a rush.

"Wow… slow down there buddy," Matt started, completely confused by the small digimon. "I thought Kari was in trouble… what does Tai have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Well, Tai was in pain and asked me to get his digivice, I couldn't find it so he told me to get Kari's. I did, and then he rushed us to the digital world where he then started screaming, then …" Agumon let out a soft whimper and looked at Matt for help.

"Where's Tai now?" Matt asked, after he finished digesting everything that the little yellow dinosaur had to say. Agumon just pointed a claw in the direction of the trees and started walking back, Matt following his footsteps.

-----

Taichi, lying on the ground, face down, slowly felt himself regain consciousness. The pain slowly subsiding allowed him to think a little clearer now. Lifting his face off the ground, he spit the dirt out of his mouth and tried to roll over, onto his back, but found he could not for some reason. Glancing back behind him, his eyes widened as he saw that he was now sporting a pair of pure white wings, which were slightly larger than he was. He slowly got up onto his knees, finding that his wings opened up so that they were not bent in any weird angles, and then pulled himself back onto his feet with slight difficulty. Still a little wobbly on his feet, he managed to support himself against a tree trunk as his wings slowly folded back behind him. '_It's like they have a life of their own…'_ he thought as his wings opened and refolded once again. He gave them a curious look and gripped the top of his right wing with his left hand. He gave a hard yank on it, thinking it was someone's strange idea of a prank and then immediately gave a sharp yell and let go of his wings.

Panting, he realized that those wings were a part of him now, it felt just like he was trying to pull out his hair or arms or something. He could make out Agumon and Matt's conversation a few yards away from where he was, and prepared to walk out of the forest to greet them both. As he took a step forward, he then realized that it might not be such a good idea to do so, seeing that it might frighten Matt away. As Tai took a step backwards, he felt another sensation take over him. He immediately placed his hands over his eyes trying to prevent the pain from coming back somehow, but to no avail. The pain came back to haunt him and he let out a loud growl and then a short scream.

Out side the forest, Matt and Agumon heard Tai's scream and came running over to where Tai was. As Tai came into his view, the first thing Matt noticed was something white behind Tai's body. Wondering what it was, he placed it in the back of his mind to take a look at it later and called out Tai's name to get his attention. "Tai!" Matt screamed out.

Tai heard Matt calling out to him and he suddenly had a surge of anger filling his veins. '_What's going on with me? I think that all the feelings that I have repressed and kept against Matt are coming to the surface… I don't want to hurt him…'_ Tai thought desperately, hoping that he could control himself. He slowly opened his eyes and looked straight at Matt and Agumon. '_Oh NO! My eyes are red again!'_ Tai thought helplessly.

Unfortunately for Matt, that's not what he saw. He didn't see a panicking Tai, or a brown haired boy in pain; he saw a man who was currently scaring the daylights out of him. Apparently, Tai's wings decided to unfold and open up completely, giving Tai a sort of non-human look. Along with his bright red eyes and pain contorted face, it looked like Tai was just about to attack Matt on the spot.

The blonde haired boy gulped and took a step away from Tai. "What are you," Matt whispered.

"Matt…" Tai whispered. His voice was thick with pain and confusion and came out as a low growl. For Matt, who was currently looking like he was about to bolt out of there, he could only hear Tai growling his name, perhaps in anger, perhaps in pain.

"Tai, are you okay?" Matt asked shakily, wishing that Gabumon was with him at this moment. Unfortunately for Tai, all of his repressed feelings were bubbling at the surface, waiting to explode. Perhaps it was because of these new changes in his body, that he needed to let his repressed feelings out, or perhaps it was because of all the pain he was feeling, those past memories just added to it, or maybe it was because Matt was standing here in front of him, that he felt like he needed to tell the boy how he really felt.

"Get out of here," Tai groaned out. He didn't want to hurt Matt, but he knew if Matt stood there, in front of him, for any longer, he was going to blow.

"What? Why?" Matt asked, his fear slightly diminished as he heard Tai's pain filled voice.

"I don't want to hurt you," Tai replied as he cast his burning red eyes downward, scared to look at Matt.

"What?" Matt said, giving a short laugh. "I came here to help you Tai, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Plus, if I don't, you sister and Sora will have my head… maybe even Davis, since he reveres you so much…" Matt explained.

As soon as the word 'Sora' came out of the teen's mouth, Tai lost control.

"Sora..." the brown haired boy growled out. Images from when Matt and Sora were together came to his mind, fueling his fury, and he could no long hold back the beast that was inside of him. He had kept his feelings hidden for too long now and it would eat him from the inside if he didn't let the beast have its way. Tai's eyes, flashing red, wings spread out in a menacing manner, rushed at the unsuspecting teenager in front of him. Letting out a feral growl, he lunged at Matt, his nails sharpened to a point. Luckily Agumon pushed Matt out of the way just in time and rolled out of Taichi's path of rage.

"What's wrong with him?" Matt gasped out, as he tried to catch his breath after such a shock. His eyes wide, sweat rolling down his face, Matt scrambled up onto his feet and looked at Tai as if he were an untamed animal on the loose. "Sorry Agumon, but I'm getting out of here before he kills me. I'll try to bring the others and Gabumon back here for help… let me know if anything else happens," Matt said in a hurry as he dashed out of the forest and found a near by computer. He pointed his digivice at the computer and was sucked back into the real world once again.

Matt found himself once again sitting in front of the computer terminal in the small computer café and took a deep breath before standing up. "I hope that was just a really bad nightmare," he whispered to himself before walking out of the café. Jogging back towards home, he glanced at his watch and found that just about 15-20 minutes have passed in the real world. '_Sure felt longer than that!'_ Matt thought angrily. '_I think I'll skip band practice for today…Right now I need to find Gabumon and quick...'_

-----

Sora decided that it was taking too long on foot to get where Kari was and decided that flying on Birdramon would be faster. After about five minutes of flying, the auburn haired girl heard a feral growl coming from the trees nearby and urged Birdramon to fly faster. As they landed in the woods, they heard someone running away from them and ran in the direction of those footsteps. They soon found themselves face to face with Agumon.

"Agumon? What are you doing here?" Sora asked, slightly confused.

"Please help him Sora!" Agumon cried out as he gripped the girl's legs tightly.

"Agumon?" she asked gently as she slowly pried the small digimon off her legs. She heard a growl come from near by and turned to see what the source of that growl was. Her eyes then landed upon a fearsome sight.

"Tai?" Sora gasped out. She looked him over, taking in his form- white wings, blood red eyes, sharp, claw like nails, an angry face… She dared to take a step closer to him and saw his face slowly easing into one of regret. "Tai?" she tried again.

"Sora?" he asked, his voice wavering, unsure if it was truly the girl standing in front of him or just a figment of his imagination.

"Now you'll really have to explain this to me," Sora muttered under her breath as she stepped a little closer to him. Even though Agumon and Birdramon could not pick up what she said under her breath, which was barely over a whisper, Tai caught it plain and easy. His five senses had increased ten fold and it was overwhelming him.

Tai finally felt exhaustion over taking him and he collapsed onto the ground, his back resting against a tree trunk. "Sora…" he sighed out as he closed his eyes once again, his wings spreading out around him.

"Tai! Are you okay?" she asked out of concern, not really caring if he was now sporting wings and red eyes. She rushed over to his side and sat down next to him, cradling his head to her chest as he let out a soft sob. "You're okay," she whispered to him over and over again as she ran a hand through his thick brown locks. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and let his feelings of regret, pain, and sadness take over him.

-----

Please review! Your comments are greatly appreciated!

-Icblue-dmoness


	9. CH 9: The Beast's True Form

A/n: I hope that wasn't too long of a wait for the next chapter. I've had a busy few weeks recently and haven't had much time for myself. Right after I posted the last chapter, I was swamped with work and this past week, I had four tests one after another, to get through, and then this weekend, I fell sick, and I was finally feeling well enough to sit down and write the rest of this chapter. I know this isn't a very long chapter, and doesn't address much, but I guess it needs to be there. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer and will address more of what is going on with everyone else and not just with Tai and Sora.

Enjoy!

**Lost in the Digital World (Chapter IX): The Beast's True Form**

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Unfortunately there is no commercial for this chapter seeing as Barario Elf is currently unavailable. If I do get a hold of this cunning little elf, I shall repost this chapter with a commercial! BTW, I have reposted the last chapter with a commercial, so if you enjoy the commercials, knock yourself out! (not literally of course!)

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"Tai?" Sora gasped out. She looked him over, taking in his form- white wings, blood red eyes, sharp, claw like nails, an angry face… She dared to take a step closer to him and saw his face slowly easing into one of regret. "Tai?" she tried again.

"Sora?" he asked, his voice wavering, unsure if it was truly the girl standing in front of him or just a figment of his imagination.

"Now you'll really have to explain this to me," Sora muttered under her breath as she stepped a little closer to him. Even though Agumon and Birdramon could not pick up what she said under her breath, barely over a whisper, Tai caught it plain and easy. His five senses had increased ten fold and it was overwhelming him.

Tai finally felt exhaustion over taking him and he collapsed onto the ground, his back resting against a tree trunk. "Sora…" he sighed out as he closed his eyes once again, his wings spreading out around him.

"Tai! Are you okay?" she asked out of concern, not really caring if he was now sporting wings and red eyes. She rushed over to his side and sat down next to him, cradling his head to her chest as he let out a soft sob. "You're okay," she whispered to him over and over again as she ran a hand through his thick brown locks. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and let his feelings of regret, pain, and sadness take over him.

After a short while, once Tai was well rested, he slowly lifted his head and found that his wings had wrapped around himself and a sleeping Sora. All of a sudden, the events from earlier came rushing back into his head, as he felt a slight head ache come on. Groaning slightly, Taichi closed his eyes once again and focused his attention on the sleeping girl beside him, hoping that everything around him would just disappear, leaving the two of them alone in bliss. Unforunately that wasn't the case, so the chocolate haired boy settled for just listening to the auburn haired beauty's breathing. Her soft breathing slowly started to lull him back into a trance- like state where he was neither fully awake nor asleep.

It was in this state where he found the answers to his questions. It was in this state where he was finally able to confront the sleeping beast inside of him.

'_Where am I?'_ Taichi asked himself as he was taken back into the recesses of his mind. He soon found himself in a void space, mostly filled with darkness; little beams of light were shining through small hole- like punctures in the veil of darkness. Though this light, Taichi was finally able to see a small figure, huddled in the middle of this void, his legs pulled up tight against his body, his arms wrapping around his legs in a tight embrace. As Taichi willed his body to move forward, he felt himself floating towards the small boy in the center of the… empty space.

The small boy glanced up at the young man before him, his dark red eyes flashing in anger. Taichi, shocked at what he is seeing, stopped in mid flight and just stared at the boy… no, creature in front of him. The boy in front of him let out a blood- curling scream as his shape slowly started to change, his arms and legs becoming lengthier, his body changing shape slightly. The boy arched forward a little and let two angelic wings sprout from the back where his shoulder blades were located. He let his nails change into sharp claws, and metal armor sourround his chest and the rest of his body.

"What are you?" Taichi asked in an awed tone. He had been watching quietly as all these changes plus a few more took place within a matter of a minute or two, his eyes getting bigger and bigger as a new change occurred.

"_I am you."_ Tai heard a voice say to him from what seemed like somewhere very far away. Taichi just assumed it to be his subconscious and repeated the question to the boy- turned- beast in front of him.

"What are You?" he asked once again, as he floated over to the creature in front of him, staring directly into those pools of blood red he called eyes. There were no irises from what Tai could see, but then again this creature was not human so who said it had to have irises?

"_I am you."_ The creature this time replied, figuring it might be easier just to take a direct route instead of confusing the poor boy.

"Wha?" Tai said, taking a step back from the creature, slightly shocked by this new revelation. "Are you telling me I'm going to end up like you?" Taichi asked as he spat out the last part of his question.

The creature chuckled and just nodded his head in reply. "_You cannot fight this… it is a part of you, as much as you want to deny it."_

"I don't understand… how did this happen? Why is it happening to me?" Tai asked furiously, panic slowly starting to take over his heart.

The beast had a slightly bored look on his face, and then decided to answer Tai's questions. _"It happened to you because it was meant to be like this You will find all the answers you need in due time. You must discover for yourself why it has happened to you and only you. There are still some obstacles that you must overcome and they will not be easy. In this form, it will be easier to see who is friend and who is not from a slightly higher view point." _

"Can you stop talking in riddles?" Taichi spat out, slightly irritated._  
_

The beast continued without stopping, as if the interuption had no effect on him at all. "_How this has happened to you was partly through the mixing of a digimon's blood with a human's and partly because of that virus on your computer. _

_ See, that virus on your computer is what you might call, a highly specialized virus. It attacks a computer with access to a digital port so it may enter the digital world this way. Unfortunately when you entered through the computer with the virus on it, a part of the virus entered into you as you traveled to the digital world. This virus is one that has the potential to reconfigure the whole digital world as we know it, if breed under the proper circumstances. Fortunately, you have a very strong will to live and do what is right so the virus does not have much control over your body, but it did start to reconfigure your body. That is why you can change your shape slightly. Mixed with the digimon's blood when the digimon attacked you, you are in essence, able to digivolve into a higher being which is perhaps stronger than a champion level digimon." _Here the beast took a breath and waited until Taichi was able to digest all the information so far. Then, he continued.

"_Your body is a powerhouse of energy for a digimon. For a digimon to evolve, the partner with the digivice must have very strong feelings as well as mental and physicial strength to support the digimon. The digimon are then able to harness the power inside of the human to digivolve into stronger beasts. You are basically a catalyst for them to evolve. Without humans, it is still possible for a digimon to evolve, but it would just take, perhaps, ten years longer than it normally would with the help of a human. Now, with such power in a human, when you had digimon blood in your body, the 'digimon' in you, so to speak, was able to emerge and take form because it had an endless supply of power to evolve. The virus just allowed these changes to be a little smoother than they might have been and allowed your body to be more accepting to these changes after they have occurred," _the beast concluded.

Once Taichi absorbed all of this material into his system, he finally asked, "a little smoother than they might have been? I thought that it was fairly painful up until now, thank you very much!" he spited out.

The beast smirked and then replied, "_You will now find that it will be slightly easier to transform into your 'digimon form' if you want to call it, because the viruses effects are slowly taking action. The virus is sort of helping your body to cope with these changes. In due time, you should feel no pain at all because of the slight reconfiguration of your body. But there is still quite a way to go; I think you may have acquired just about 33 percent of your true power…" _the beast said, mulling over the statistic in his head.

"So you are basically saying most of this stuff that is happening to me is because of the digimon- human blood fusion that is happening in my body?" Tai asked once again to make sure he was hearing things properly. The beast nodded in reply.

"_This is your true form; take a good look at it boy, cause this is what you are going to become…" _the beast said, flashing a slightly evil smirk as he faded from Taichi's view.

Then, as soon as it had started, Tai's vision quest had ended and he was alone in the black void in the recesses of his mind. He felt slight movement beside him and that brought him back out of his trance- like state. He found that now Agumon had curled up beside him, his yellow head on Tai's lap as he used Tai's wing as a blanket to cover himself. Looking out over the vast expanse of trees and other shrubbery, the chocolate haired boy felt a slight, yet cooling breeze tease his face… or so it felt like that to him. But to the other three that lay around him, it was like a gust of cold air being blown at them. Sora snuggled closer to Taichi, wrapping both her arms around his torso as his wing closed up a little tighter around her to block out the cold air. _'Funny how it acts on it's own,'_ Tai thought. '_Or perhaps it's my subconscious?'_ As the brown- eyed boy stared up at the sky, he thought about what he had just experienced in _that _place, going back over what _he_ had told himself.

-----

Matt broke into a jog as he quickly made it down the street towards his home. He soon changed pace and started running as he remembered that Sora was still in the digital world. He knew she had Biyomon by her side but it would still be better if he got re-enforcement and went back to the digital world. '_I feel kind of sorry for Agumon… but actually, he might be the only one to help change his partner back,'_ Matt thought. His journey back towards home was interrupted when he heard a group of shrill screams coming from not that far away. Coming to a halt and then turning his head to find the source of the screaming, he found a semi large group of girls screaming out his name, running towards him. "Shit," he muttered under his breath as he took off in another direction. He definitely did not want these girls finding out where he lives so he took the long way home, hoping to loose these girls on the way. Unfortunately, another fan group spotted him along the way, making him run further and further away from his house. '_Shoot… at this rate, I'll never get home and get help. I can't even stop to take a breather!'_ thought Matt as he gasped for breath, still running.

-----

Meanwhile, back in the digital world, Sora's eyes fluttered open as she decided it was time to wake up. Her hand touched what she thought to be a very soft blanket, and looked down to see if perhaps she was back home. Glancing down, she found that Tai's wings were wrapped around her, protecting her from the harsh wind. She lifted her head off his chest, silently wondering how she got into that position in the first place, and glanced over at the sleeping Tai.

"Taichi," she said, barely over a whisper, but that was enough to wake Tai up. Groaning slightly, he opened his eyes, glad to find that they were back to normal and glanced down at the now awake Sora.

Now seeing him awake, she shot him a stern glance indicating that she wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Sighing, Tai decided to oblige, not wanting an angry Sora on his tail.

"I guess I should start from the beginning. But keep in mind that these are all theories so far as to why I'm like this…" he started. Sora placed a hand on his arm and gave it a little squeeze, to reassure him, and silently asked him to continue.

"When I came to the digital world, I had a virus on my computer, right?" Sora nodded in reply. "Well, of course, you know that Agumon and myself were separated when we came into the digital world. I started look for him, I ended up near gennai's place actually. I walked through a forest and ended up getting chased by a couple of monochromon, a few bug digimon and getting stuck in quick sand… it wasn't pretty to say the least. When a Monochromon bit my arm, it think a bit of it's blood- a digimon's blood- was mixed with mine and it started a chain reaction. Because of the virus- the virus on my computer is apparently one that has the power to reconfigure the digital world if used properly- since it is in my body now, it is reconfiguring my body to adapt to the digimon blood and is causing these changes in me. I suspect that I can change back and forth between this form and being a human… I think," Tai continued. Sora just shuddered in response. "With the virus and the digimon blood mixing, it's turning me into a digimon… this isn't my complete form, I can feel it."

Sora gave a shocked look and then said, "so you have red eyes, wings, can heal wounds very fast…"

"I'm not sure what else I can do at this moment," he replied back. "Let me see if I can retract my wings," he said with a start. Releasing his grip on the girl next to him, Taichi closed his eyes and focused all his energy on his shoulder blades, willing his wings to go back into his body. He slowly felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as his wings slowly retracted back into his body. As he opened his eyes, he saw that it was raining white feathers all over himself and Sora. He looked over at Sora and smiled sheepishly as he rested against the back of the tree.

After a brief silence, Tai turned towards Sora and asked, "How come you're not running away like Matt did?"

Sora brought her hand up to her chin, pondering this question. '_Why didn't I run when I saw Tai like that?'_ "Probably because I saw what had happened to you, how bad of a shape you were in to start with, and I was there, most of the time, beside you when you started getting these… powers? And besides, Biyomon and Agumon were there, they would have protected me if you tried to hurt me," Sora said, but immediately added "but of course I don't think you would do anything like that anyways," after seeing his saddened face when she mentioned that he posed a threat to her. Sighing, Sora scooted over besides Tai and rested her head against his bare shoulder and wrapped both her arms around his, pulling his arm close to her chest. "Don't worry. I'm here for you no matter what, you're my best friend, and I know you would never harm me, or the others."

'_Best friend, eh? I guess that's all I'll be … I was hoping for something more,'_ Tai thought as he rested his head on top of hers. "You think we could be more?" Tai whispered towards the wind.

"What?" Sora asked, not quite catching what he had said.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Taichi replied, giving a sad grin. '_It's all in your hands now Sora. Both Matt's and my heart are in your hands. It's up to you to decide.'_

Taking in a deep breath, Taichi said, "I think we should get going back to the real world. I think I'm feeling okay now. And I should probably find Matt an apologize to him for earlier, that is, if he's still talking to me…"

"Don't worry Tai, I'll try talking to Matt… you just get some rest," Sora automatically replied as she got to her feet. As both of them made their way out of the forest, they saw a small digimon approach them.

"Is that Elecmon? What is he doing here?" Sora asked as the digimon approached them.

"And what's up with his color?" Tai asked. "His body is completely black, and his eyes are red… I thought he was supposed to be red with blue stripes and blue eyes. Right?" he asked Sora. Sora nodded in response.

"Hey Elecmon! I don't think you're going to find any fishes over on this side of the digital world to feed the baby digimon," Agumon called out.

When in hearing range, the four of them finally heard what Elecmon was saying. "Hello digidestined."

Without warning, Elecmon jumped at Agumon and let out a ferocious attack. "Super Thunder Strike!" A wave of blue came crashing down onto Agumon as he was sent flying back a good thirty feet. A line of broken trees and other debris followed Agumon's path.

"Agumon!" Sora and Taichi screamed out.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon yelled out as she let her attack onto Elecmon. Elecmon just stood there and let her attack him. When the dust around them cleared, Elecmon stood there, staring at Biyomon with his piecing red eyes, taunting the pink bird. He didn't have a single scratch on him from what the three of them could see. Tai rushed over to Agumon and helped him sit up.

"Are you ok buddy?" Tai asked. Agumon nodded.

"Let's do it Tai! I don't know who this digimon is, but I know Elecmon cannot be that powerful! And he knows us!" Pausing for a second, the yellow digimon then asked, "Maybe he's on a rampage because someone took his baby digimon?"

The two of them suddenly heard a scream coming from where the fight was taking place.

"Biyomon!" Sora called out as she rushed towards her digimon.

"Let me try talking to him Tai. If that doesn't work, then I'll digivolve and knock some sense into him!" Agumon growled out. Tai nodded in approval.

"Let's do this!" Taichi helped Agumon onto his feet and they ran back to where Sora and Biyomon were. Biyomon was knocked out cold and was resting in Sora's arms. Sora helplessly looked over at Tai and he nodded back to her, letting her know there was no need to worry; Agumon was back in business!

"Elecmon, did someone steal your babies? If so, we can help you look for them. There's no need to take your anger out on us!" Agumon shouted, not wanting to get too close to the rampaging digimon. After a couple minutes of useless talking, Agumon realized it was no use trying to talk to Elecmon when he was in this state, he was not listening to a word that Agumon had uttered.

"Agumon, it's no use. Digivolve!" Tai screamed out as he saw that Elecmon was getting ready for another attack. Knowing what happened last time, he did not want to risk Agumon getting hurt again and immediately asked him to digivolve. A second later, as the attack neared the group of four, Greymon stood before them, the attack crashing into his body. This time, ready for the attack, he was surprised when he was thrown back fifteen feet and gave a groan as he tried to get back onto his feet.

"Greymon!" Tai screamed out.

"Is a rookie level digimon supposed to be this strong, Tai?" Sora whispered out. But to Tai's sensitive ears, he could easily pick out what Sora was saying.

"No he shouldn't. I don't think that is Elecmon, Sora." Tai replied, glaring at the digimon. Tai heard the sound of heavy footsteps approach them from behind and saw Greymon back on his feet once again. "Round two, Greymon!" Taichi yelled out as Greymon threw in all his weight into his next attack.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon yelled out, as a ball of fire flew from his mouth. Elecmon dodged his attack and head butted Greymon in the gut. Greymon grunted and was sent flying backwards a couple of feet. Letting out a small yell, Greymon slowly changed back into Agumon, the small yellow dinosaur clutching his midsection in pain.

"Is it supposed to hurt this much?" the small digimon asked as he glared at Elecmon.

"I think you are right Agumon, this is definitely not Elecmon," Tai growled out as he slowly felt a piercing headache take over.

The two digimon out of the way, Elecmon turned his gaze onto the two digidestined in front of him. "Hello digidestined," he said once again, in a slightly sneering tone.

"Super thunder Strike!" Elecmon said once again, this time aiming his attack at Biyomon and Sora.

"Sora!" Taichi exclaimed as he pushed Sora out of the path of the attack and rolled on top of her to protect her from any falling debris.

"How heroic of you," Elecmon said sarcastically.

Tai got to his knees, Sora still under him, Biyomon still in her arms. Panting slightly, Tai turned his gaze onto the berserk digimon. Chocolate brown eyes, with a tint of red to them, met red eyes; Tai felt a sharp pain shoot through his head and he immediately broke his gaze from the red- eyed digimon, onto a slightly fearful Sora. Seeing Sora in that kind of a state, along with an unconscious Biyomon and an injured Agumon, it slowly pushed him over the edge. Clutching his head in his hands, he let out a loud growl as his eyes turned red, and his nails slowly turning to claws.

"How dare you attack my friends," Tai growled out. Tai slowly lifted himself off of Sora and got to his feet. Turning his blood- red eyes onto the blackened digimon, he let out a roar and rushed towards Elecmon with an unnatural speed. To Sora, it was just a blur going past her. Lifting one hand up into the air, Taichi slashed down with all his might, cutting the digimon down into four strips. As soon as it had started, it had ended as the digimon turned into data and was taken with the wind. Tai stood up and walked over to a limping Agumon and offered him his back.

"Get on," Tai commanded, as he turned his red eyes onto his friend. Agumon, too tired to complain, and too shocked to argue, immediately scampered onto Tai's back and wrapped his claws around Tai's neck. Then, walking over to Sora, Tai asked, "Do you think you can walk on your own, or do you need help?" as he offered a claw to help his friend up.

Giving a shaky smile, she said, "I think I can walk." Tai nodded and offered a small smile back. After a minute of silence, Sora finally asked, "Tai, do you think you can change your eyes and hands back to normal? They're starting to freak Agumon and myself out a bit…" Tai turned around and focused his piercing gaze onto Sora and she automatically took a step back.

"I can try," he said, shocking her a bit. He closed his eyes and willed his body to change back. When he opened his eyes again, they were chocolate brown again.

"Thanks," said Sora, grinning. She gave a small hug to Tai and they both continued on their way, looking for a computer that would lead them out of the digital world.

"Wasn't there are computer near this place?" Agumon asked. "Matt showed up some where near here."

"You're right!" Tai said as he ran off in the direction he thought Matt came from.

"Uh, Tai, he came from this way," Agumon said, pointing a claw 45 from the direction Tai was headed in. Tai stopped in mid step and looked over at a grinning Agumon and a laughing Sora.

"Oh," Tai said sheepishly as he made his way back to where Agumon was headed. '_Her laugh sounds so nice,'_ Tai thought as he closed his eyes for a second.

"Taichi, we're leaving you behind," Sora yelled out, giggling as Tai's eyes widened and he started racing to catch up. As they made their way to the computer that finally came in view, Tai and Agumon turned around when Sora gave a small, startled 'oh' and looked at her hands. Apparently Biyomon had devolved into Yokomon, now fast asleep in her arms. "Well, she'll be a little easier to carry now," Sora smiled. Agumon laughed and followed Taichi to the computer terminal.

"I'd better make sure I have Kari's digivice," the brown haired boy said as he checked his pockets. He found his little sister's digivice in his side pocket and nodded his head. Taking it out, he pointed it at the screen and all four of them were sucked in. They ended back in Tai's room this time, his d-terminal glowing brightly on the ground. Sora let out a soft 'ooh' as she landed on something soft and accidentally let Yokomon fly out of her hands as the rest of her body came crashing down onto the floor.

Agumon, looking up, saw Yokomon flying in his general direction, so he went to catch the sleeping in-training digimon. He dived down into the ground and slid out the door, and was lucky enough to catch Yokomon… or more like, he was acting like a cushion for her as the small digimon bounced onto his back and then rolled onto the ground. He picked her up in his claws and cradled her, checking if she was okay. Seeing that she was fine, he ran back into the room, took Kari's digivice and placed it in her backpack that was in the living room. Just as he did that, he heard Kari's room door slowly open.

Meanwhile, back in Taichi's room, Tai landed on his back with a thud and then soon felt Sora land on top of him. He heard her let out a soft 'oof' as Yokomon went flying out of her hands, then Sora came crashing down on top of him. "Sora…" he groaned out. Her face was next to his, except hers facing the floor, and she was breathing down his neck. He placed his hands on the sides of her waist and turned his head slightly so his lips were next to her ear. "Don't move," he said in a commanding voice, with a hint of a pleading tone.

"What?" she asked as she lifted her head off the ground so she was looking into his eyes, face to face. Her upper body was now resting on her elbows. "Why? Aren't I heavy?" she asked as she shifted slightly, he knee pressing up against something. Tai's eyes widened slightly as her knee was pressed tightly between his legs, putting a little more pressure than he would have liked.

Shaking his head violently, he said, "let me get out first okay?" in a slightly strained tone of voice. Sensing his pain, and his facial expressions, Sora finally realized what her knee was pushing against and why Tai was in such pain.

"Oh my god," Sora said as she jumped off of him, accidentally kneeing him in the groin. Taichi let out a hiss of pain and closed his eyes tightly as he closed his legs together and pulled his knees to his chest. Slapping a hand to her mouth, Sora quickly whispered apologies to him, as fast as her mouth would allow her to, as she bent down next to him, placing her free hand on his shoulder in a consoling manner. "Taichi, I'm soooo sorry!" Sora repeated over and over again.

When Tai finally found his voice, he croaked out, "I'm okay… It's ok…" '_Damn that hurts! If it were anyone other than Sora, I would have slapped him or her down to the seventh hell! Shit!' _

Kari heard a thump in her brother's room and decided to investigate. '_He'd better not have one of those weird girlfriends over in his room, doing things he shouldn't be doing…'_ Kari thought, her eyes narrowing. As she opened the door to her room, she saw Agumon carrying Yokomon, standing next to her backpack. Frowning, she wondered why Yokomon was here and went to her brother's bedroom. His door was open, so she could get a clear view of what was going on. He was rolling on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest, Sora kneeling next to him muttering aplogies to him every few seconds, and asking him if he was okay.

"What happened in here?" Kari asked as she walked into the room. Tai stopped rolling around and glanced up at his sister.

"I… I uh… I… kneedTaiinthegroin…" Sora uttered out as she kept her gaze on the floor, her face red with embarrassment.

"What?" Kari asked again.

"I…" Sora started again, but was interrupted when Kari burst out laughing. It took her a few seconds but Kari finally deciphered what Sora said and started laughing at Tai's predicament.

As her laughing came down to a halt, she turned to Sora and asked, "How'd you get here in the first place? I didn't hear the door bell ring."

"She snuck in through the window," Taichi said with a very serious face. He was finally able to sit upright on the floor and gave Sora a small, playful glare. Sora just blushed and gulped in response.

"Really?" Kari asked, wearing a 'I'm- not- that- dumb' look on her face.

"Tai went to the digital world because he lost something there, and I went to help him find it," said Sora, uttering the first thing that came to her mind.

"And what exactly was he looking for?" Kari asked, her suspicion rising by the second. Out of the blue, Kari then asked, "Are you cheating on your boyfriend Sora?"

"What?" both Taichi and Sora screamed out, shocked at such an accusation. Well, Taichi was surprised but at the same time hopeful, and Sora was completely and utterly shocked.

"Where did that come from?" Sora stuttered after she found her voice again.

"I don't know… I'm just asking… and you did sneak into Tai's room through the window!" Kari replied, shrugging. "So what were you two looking for?" she asked again, giggling.

"We were looking for my digivice," Tai said through clenched teeth, glaring at his sister for placing Sora in such a tight spot and for making him blush. '_I really don't want to get my sister involved with this mess right now. Not until I can get control of what is going on with myself and fixing my friendship with Matt and clearing the air with everyone else.'_

After clearing the matter with Sora and Kari, Taichi got off the floor, helped Sora up and led her to the door. The sun had started to set when Taichi opened the door for Sora. "So, um… I guess we don't have to meet up tomorrow morning… that is…" Tai tried to say something coherent but ended up placing his hands behind his head and laughing nervously.

"We can still meet up if you want… Give me a call when you get up, or when you're free… I'll probably be at my mom's flower shop helping her out, so when you want to talk, give me a call and we can meet somewhere," Sora said as she stepped out of the apartment.

"Uh, ok. Cool. Then I'll give you a call tomorrow," Tai said as he leaned against the apartment door.

Sora nodded and then said, "I still need answers from you, you know!" grinning.

Taichi sighed but gave a small smile back towards her. Agumon came running from behind Tai and handed Yokomon back to Sora.

"You almost forgot this!" he said, gently placing the small digimon in Sora's arms.

"Thanks Agumon," she replied as she rubbed the top of the yellow digimon's head affectionately.

As soon as Sora left, Kari and Tai made themselves dinner and placed the groceries away, since their parents didn't seem like they would come out of their bedroom anytime soon.

After dinner, as Kari and Gatomon settled down on the couch, Kari reaching for the remote, Tai gave a loud yawn and then said, "I think I'll head off to bed now, I'm kinda tired from running around in the digital world." As he headed back into his room, Agumon scampered off behind him and closed Tai's room door behind himself.

Tai fell onto his bed with a groan and immediately fell asleep.

-----

A couple hours later, or it felt like that for Tai, the chocolate brown haired boy heard a shrill noise coming from the living room. As he opened his eyes, the bright sun hit his eyes sharply, making him close his eyes immediately afterwards as he groaned in pain. As he rolled out of bed and opened his door, he wondered where his parents and Kari were, and if they heard the beeping too.

Tai made his way towards the beeping noise and found that it was coming from inside Kari's bag. Opening the front pouch of her bag, he found her digivice flashing brightly and he took a hold of it and stared at the screen. He saw Matt's blue dot blinking brightly on the digivice and Tai decided that this was the best time to meet Matt and clear the air between the two of them. Running back into his room, Taichi woke Agumon up with a light shake of the shoulder and pointed Kari's digivice towards his d-terminal. Agumon and Tai were immediately sucked in and found themselves a couple of feet away form Matt. Looking up, Tai found Matt's cold gaze focused on him, Gaubumon's gaze focused on Agumon.

"Hi Matt!" Tai said cheerfully, getting up onto his feet. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday… things might have gotten a bit out of hand and I wasn't myself…" Tai started, trying to explain himself.

"Save it Tai," Matt barked out as his icy blue eyes glared at the boy in front of him. Without taking his eyes off of Tai, he yelled, "Gabumon!" Gabumon glanced at Matt for a second and then nodded his head.

"Gabumon, warp digivolve to… Metalgarurumon!" Gabumon roared out as he slowly changed into the Mega form.

"What's going on Matt?" Tai asked, a little shaken up.

"Tai! Watch out!" Agumon said, as he pushed Tai down onto the ground, barely able to avoid the attack that Metalgarurumon launched at them.

"Fine. If you won't listen to reason, then i'll have to do this the hard way. Agumon! Digivolve!" Tai yelled out. Even though he didn't have his digivice, because of Agumon's will to protect his friend, he was able to digivolve. Now, Metalgarurumon and Wargreymon were fighting in the sky, just like they were more than five years ago.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it Tai?" Matt said with a sinister tone to his voice.

"You didn't go to the dark side again did you Matt? You even have a girlfriend! What would Sora say to all of this?" Tai asked desperately, trying not to do anything more that would make Matt set Metalgarurumon on him.

"I'm not the one who has gone to the dark side, Tai… it's you."

A roar ripped through the air and Wargreymon fell back onto the ground with a sickening thud and Tai rushed over to his side. "Wargreymon!" Tai yelled out.

The digimon did not reply his pleas. "Wargreymon?" Tai asked shakily. "What did you do?" Tai growled as he turned his accusatory gaze onto Metalgarurumon. His eyes slowly turned red, his fingers extending, becoming claws, and his wings slowly made themselves reappear from his back as he took flight for the first time.

"You are going to pay Metalgarurumon. He was your friend… How could you do this to him?" Tai screamed out, tears threatening to pour out from his eyes.

Metalgarurumon just stared back at the very distraught boy flying at him. "Metal Wolf Claw!" the digimon roared out as he attacked the brown haired boy.

Tai was thrown back a few feet, landing on the ground, now on his knees. "You think that will actually affect me?" Tai laughed out. Even though he had a gaping hole right above the left part of his chest, very close to the heart, he knew nothing would happen to him because of his ability to regenerate his body at an accelerated pace. He felt the blood slowly drip down his ripped shirt and onto the dirt ground below him. Closing his eyes, he waited until the wound completely healed itself and waited for the right opportunity to take revenge.

After a minute, Tai opened his eyes again and glanced down at his wound wondering why he still felt the blood drip down his shirt and arms. A couple seconds later, he felt a searing pain shoot through his body, his heart clenching really tightly.

"What's going on?" Tai managed to gasp out.

"You were too over confident in your abilites Tai. You may have a fast recovery rate, but it's useless if you have a gaping hole through your body," Matt spat out.

Tai cluched his chest with his right hand and felt the blood ooze over it. "Why isn't it stopping?" he asked no one in particular. His body slowly started to bend back and forth as he felt himself loose conciousness and his world turning to darkness.

-----

Taichi's eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed gasping for air, his right hand placed over his chest in a protective manner. Taking in deep breaths of air, he looked around and found himself back in his room. '_What happened? Wasn't I just in the digital world?'_ Tai asked himself. He heard a soft muttering coming from the edge of his bed and found Agumon fast asleep at the foot of his bed. '_Agumon…'_ Tai thought over and over again, a small smile appearing on his face. He glanced towards the window and saw that it was still dark. Looking over at his desk, his eyes trailed over the small indigo clock on the table and it read ' 2:00 A.M.' '_I guess I'd better get back to sleep… what a nightmare…'_ Tai thought as he shook his head of the dream and settled back under the sheets. '_Just to make sure that never happens, I'd better watch myself and make sure I know the extent of my abilities… I guess nothing is immortal in this world,'_ Tai sighed. With that last thought, Tai went back into the world of dreams, but this time his mind was not plagued with thoughts of death and disaster, but was filled with a beautiful red- head accompanying him for lunch later that day… or so he hoped.

-----

Want more? Let me know in a review and you'll be seeing more very soon! Hopefully by the end of next week! I know there's not much happening with the rest of the digidestined or with the evil people, but all of that will be addressed in the next chapter… or so I hope to get to them in the next chapter. We'll see where my plot bunnies take me. :)


	10. Just Friends?

A/N: Okay, to clear up a few things that might be bothering you, the older digidestined are around the age of 18- 19, Joe being the exception, he's 21. The younger digidestined are 15-16 yrs and Cody is 13.

Also, since this is taking place during the summer, I don't think the digidestined would have that much time to spend in the digital world if it was during school, it would be during July- August, when they have time off from school. They will be going back to school eventually, but that will be later on in the story. In America, where Mimi and Davis are, it is also summer vacation, so Davis is over there on a summer program.

-----

**Chapter X: Just Friends?**

_Hey Kari,_

_Hope everything over there in Japan is going well. I'm fine over here. This cooking school mom sent me to is great! I can open my noodle cart in no time at this rate! It's great to be out of the house and away from Jun! How's the rest of the gang back home? Is Tai alright now? I heard that you met some trouble in the digital world the other day. Yamato told us not to worry about it though. You're okay right? _

_Well, changing the subject, I met a great girl over here. She's American though, and her name's Julie. She's in my cooking class and she wants to open a restaurant of her own someday. I think I may even be falling for her! But don't tell anyone yet… especially T.K.! I don't want him hanging this over my head forever. How is T.K. anyways? Is he still trying to hit on you? Wait… I think that was me. Haha. I guess you don't have to worry about me anymore, cause I think I might ask her to be my girlfriend. I'll send a picture with this email for ya. _

_I ran into Mimi the other day actually. She's living with a girlfriend of hers in downtown New York actually. They rented out an apartment a couple miles away from my cooking class. At least Veemon has a friend to play with now. I told Julie about my being a digidestined and everything and she actually took it pretty well. Plus, she thought Veemon was, and I quote, 'cute and cuddly!' Haha! Man, she should see him when he digivolves… I wonder if she'll still think he's cute and cuddly then. She ended up poking and pinching Veemon's cheeks all day that day. _

_Poor Veemon. _

_Oh, and she also said she would love to meet the rest of you, so when I come back to Japan later this year, at the end of summer, she might come with me for a week or two and then head back. _

_Okay, I should run now, I have to go pick Julie up for our 'date.' Well, it's not really a date cause we're not officially boyfriend and girlfriend, but I hope to be sometime soon! We're going out to see a movie. _

_Love,_

_Davis_

Davis re-read his email once again before pressing the SEND button. He watched a tiny little dinosaur take the letter in his mouth and bounce across the screen. Once it disappeared from view, signaling that the message was sent, Davis closed his d-terminal and glanced at his watch. 3:30 PM. Stretching out a bit, he got out of his seat in the café that he was in and took his wallet out of his pocket. Taking out a couple of dollar bills and some change, he placed it on the tabletop, grabbed his d-terminal and walked out of the café. '_That pizza was good. I should bring Julie here sometime,'_ Davis thought as he walked over to Julie's apartment complex.

Davis walked towards a big building and entered the building through the glass doors. He nodded to the receptionist at the front desk and went over to the elevators. Waiting for the elevator to come down to the lobby, Davis took a look around the lobby and suddenly spotted a flash of pink hair. '_Mimi?'_ Frowning, Davis made his way over to the pink haired girl until he was about a foot away from her. "Mimi?" he voiced out his question.

The pink haired girl turned around, her brown eyes landing on Davis. "Davis!" she said, giving the brown haired boy a big hug.

"Mimi, what are you doing here?" Davis asked as he tried to pry the bubbly girl off of him.

"Oh, I came here to meet a friend, but he's not home right now so I was on my way out. What are you doing here?" Mimi asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I came to pick Julie up to go to a movie," Davis replied. Before Mimi could reply, Davis heard a small 'ding' go off, indicating that the elevator had come down. "Oh, that's mine!" Davis said as he ran over to the elevator. As he waited for the people in the elevator to file out, Davis turned to Mimi and said, "I'll see you later!" as he waved bye to her and got onto the moving contraption. He pressed '10' on the panel and waited quietly in the corner for the elevator to come to a stop on the 10th floor.

Getting off the elevator, Davis turned right and walked down the long hallway. He stopped in front of the door numbered 1017 and rang the doorbell that was placed beside the door. He waited for a couple of seconds before a blonde haired girl opened the door. "Come on in Davis," the girl replied after seeing the boy. Smiling, Davis entered the clean apartment and slipped out of his shoes before taking a seat on the couch in the living room.

"Do you want anything to drink or eat?" she asked as she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for a glass.

"No thanks, I ate before coming here; a glass of water will be fine," Davis said as he looked around the apartment. Granted it wasn't the first time he was over, but the cleanliness and artistry of the apartment awed him every time he came over. There were paintings placed on every wall, some bought in art- auctions, some hand made by Julie's roommate.

The blonde haired girl came out of the kitchen carrying a glass of water and handed it over to Davis. "Thanks," Davis nodded before taking the glass. "These are some amazing paintings," Davis said as he gulped down the glass of water.

Giggling, the blonde haired girl said, "you say that every single time you come over. Thanks though." Davis smiled and placed the glass on the table in front of him.

"So where's Julie?" he finally asked, seeing that he had been waiting for about five minutes now.

"I thought you would never ask," Julie's roommate replied, taking a seat next to Davis. "She's almost ready," she replied as she grabbed the TV remote off the side table. Switching the TV onto the art auction channel, she then remembered Davis was over. "Do you want to watch anything?" she asked as she offered him the remote.

Davis shook his head and said, "No thanks. Anyways, Julie's ready now," as he got up off the couch and watched as the brunette came out of her room.

"Hey Davis," Julie said as she walked over to him and gave him a brief hug. "Let me go grab my purse and we can leave." She ran back to her room, got her purse and came back into the living room.

"I'll see you later Janice," Julie said as she took Davis's hand in hers and dragged him out the door. Janice just waved as the couple left, her eyes glued to the t.v. Locking the door behind her, Julie turned towards Davis and asked, "Are you ready?"

Davis nodded and took her hand in his as they walked down the corridor together. "You look nice," he leaned over and whispered into her ear. Julie, blushing, mumbled a quick 'thanks' and looked at the floor. She straightened her short black skirt out and pulled her pink spaghetti-strapped top down a bit, before stepping onto the elevator. "Stop fussing, you look fine," Davis whispered to her as she kept fumbling with the border of her top. Smiling slightly, she placed her hands at her side.

As they stepped out from the elevator, Davis waved at the receptionist once again and placed his arm around Julie's waist as they left the building. "I see you're chummy with the receptionist there," Julie said, laughing.

Davis shrugged. "I met him a couple of times so we know each other." Taking two tickets out of his back pocket, Davis scanned the tickets for the show time. "Let's see… it says the show is at 4:30, it's 4 pm now. So by the time we get there, it will be around 4:15. The movie's around two hours long so we'll get out around 6:30. Do you want to have dinner after that? Then I can bring you back," Davis said, running the times through his head.

"Sure, that sounds great," Julie replied as they started walking towards the bus stop. Catching the bus, they went over to a theater that was near by and bought a couple of treats for themselves before they went in to watch the movie.

As the movie started, Julie settled into her seat, placing her head on Davis' shoulder. Davis suddenly stiffened, not sure what to do in this situation.

Sure he had pursued Kari, but Kari never returned his affections so he had no experience in these types of situations. He decided to place his arm around the brunette's shoulders and she snuggled in a little closer to him.

Luckily, Davis did not pick a movie that was neither full of romance nor full of horror so both of them enjoyed it thoroughly.

As the movie ended, the two teenagers got up from their seats and stretched out their stiff muscles.

"Now where do you want to go?" Julie asked as they walked out of the theater. Davis' stomach gave the answer as it grumbled softly. "Well, there's my answer." Julie laughed. Davis grinned sheepishly as he placed his arms behind his head and they walked over to a restaurant a couple of blocks down from the theaters.

"This place looks kind of expensive," Julie started as they walked in.

"Don't worry about it. Mimi told me it's not as expensive as it looks, which is good," Davis said as he straightened out his dark blue silk shirt. "Come on," he urged as he took her hand in his. Davis walked up to the guy behind the register and asked for a table for two. Nodding, the man led them to a secluded booth in the non-smoking section and placed two menus on the table and left. Taking a menu into his hands, Davis said, "Order anything you want. Dinner's on me."

"I hope it is… it's not polite to make a girl pay," Julie said grinning. Davis just chuckled and continued to look through his menu. As a waiter came by, they ordered their drinks and meals and waited for the food to arrive.

"You know, it almost feels like we're on a date," Julie said as she folded her arms on top of the table.

"Do you want it to be?" Davis asked, figuring it might be the right time to ask her.

"What?"

"Do you want it to be a date? You and me?" Davis asked again, his voice wavering slightly in excitement and anticipation.

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Julie asked, looking Davis straight in the eyes.

"Yes."

"Then, yes. I will be your girlfriend," Julie said, smiling. Davis' eyes lit up as a grin filled his face. Davis would have jumped for joy but just then their food arrived.

"Perfect timing," Davis said as he continued grinning. The two of them dug into their meals, Davis explaining more about the digital world to Julie.

As they finished up their meal, the waiter brought over the bill and Davis took a look at it. His eye started twitching as he took a look at the final amount. '_Not as expensive as it looks, eh Mimi?'_ Davis thought angrily as he whipped out a card his mom had given him for his expenses. Of course his mom would get a full account of where he was spending his money and she had threatened to revoke his money if he didn't spend it properly. '_Oh well… I guess it was worth it. Mom better pay me for this or I'll be broke before the month ends…'_ The waiter took his card and went to make the transaction.

Looking back up at Julie he then asked, "Do you want to take a walk for a bit? Then I can drop you back home," he offered.

Nodding, she replied, "Sure."

The waiter came back with his card and thanked them for dining at the restaurant. '_You'd better be thankful cause I don't think I'll be coming back here for a while…'_ Davis thought as he grumbled under his breath.

"What's wrong Davis?" Julie asked as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," Davis replied as he plastered a smile on his face. He pushed the money thoughts out of his head and enjoyed his walk with Julie.

"How old is your roommate?" Davis asked out of the blue.

"Huh? Uh, she's around twenty I think," Julie replied. "She's trying to sell some of her art pieces actually. She's sold a few over the internet, but she's trying to bring them to an art dealer and I think she's planning on opening her own art show or something in the future."

"Cool," Davis replied. They made idle talk about anything that came to their minds until they were back at Julie's apartment door, 1017.

"Thanks for this wonderful night Davis," Julie said as she kissed him on the cheek. Davis smiled and waited for her to go into the room. Before she opened the door and stepped inside, she turned around once again and looked at Davis once more before turning the key.

"Wait," Davis said as he grabbed her hand. Turning around, Julie shot him a questioning look. "Can… Can I- Can I kiss you?" Davis stuttered out as a blush rose to his cheeks. Smiling, Julie nodded and closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards. Davis stepped closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, his right arm still holding her hand in his. He brought his lips down softly against hers and his eyes closed as well. He brushed his lips against hers tentatively before pressing his lips upon hers with a little more pressure. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck. They pulled back slightly, due to the lack of air and the brunette smiled softly.

"Thanks Davis," she whispered before she untangled herself from him and stepped inside her apartment. She glanced at him once more, a slight blush tainting her cheeks and then she closed the door.

Davis leaned against the railing and sighed as he ran a finger over his lips. '_Wow…' _was the only thing running through his head all the way back to his dorm that the college had provided for him.

------

Joe sighed for the tenth time as he listened to the monotone voice of the professor droning on and on at the front of the classroom. He had signed up for an easy biology course to take over his short break, but was now regretting it. '_When will this class be over?'_ he thought as he glanced at the clock on the wall. It seemed like the hands of the clock refused to budge and were locked in place at 10:15 AM. It was a brand new day and Joe thought he could change his mind about his professor, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

As the doctor-to-be's hands automatically took down every other word uttered from the teacher's lips, Joe's mind slowly drifted off into la-la land. His mind traveled back to when the digidestined first went to the digital world and where he first met Bukamon. '_Haha.. I remember I was running scared of him the first time I saw him… he was actually kind scary looking with that orange thing he calls hair on top of his head…_his thoughts then proceeded to go through their adventures in the digital world-

… _how Gomamon digivolved into Ikkakumon for the first time and saved him…_

… _how he met Leomon and Ogremon for the first time, as both of them tried to kill the gang…_

… _how Sora and I were sacrifices for the Bakemon…_

… _Matt and I were both cleaning dishes, well I was, and Matt was cooking…_

… _Saving Mimi from the Gekomon and Tai's horrible singing… I don't think I was that bad…_

… _we all defeated Myotismon, the dark masters… I think after that I left to find Matt… Then we defeated Apocalymon…_

_We all slowly split up after that. Mimi went to the America's with her family, though she comes back every now and then... _

_I miss her company; it was nice when we were off together in the digital world, she didn't act as preppy or annoying as she usually would and isn't as head strong as Sora is, for a girl, and takes precautions. Something that I'm really grateful for. I should give her a call sometime and see how she's doing,' _Joe thought with finality as he came back to the real world.

Joe heard a faint sound at the front of the class that resembled the beeping of a stopwatch or a timer. Looking up at the front of the class, he spotted the professor packing his things away.

"I will go into further detail about this topic next week," the professor said as he placed his notes and books back into his bag. '_Oh great,' _Joe thought as he picked himself off the seat, grabbed his books and his bag and walked out of the classroom. As he walked out of the Biology building, he met up with a couple of his college friends, who luckily were not in the same class as Joe was in, and didn't have to suffer through hell, and decided to go out for lunch.

"So where do you guys want to go?" Joe asked. One of the guys' yelled 'pizza,' another one yelled 'McDonalds.' The others just looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"We ate there yesterday, dude," a guy called Matthew pointed out. He had jet-black hair, pointy at the front and the rest of it slicked back. "We'll go get pizza then," he said as he took the lead and started walking to his car. Once the group of five squeezed into Matthew's small car, they drove down to the eatery near by and ordered two large pizzas. When the pizzas came, they dug in without hesitation. The waitress was slightly appalled by the brutal manner in which the guys ate, but left without saying a word. As Joe finished up his last piece of pizza, he heard his cell phone go off. It vibrated in his hand as he took it out of his pocket. Looking at the caller- id, he found that Cody was calling him. Seeing that it was the middle of the day and Cody would be in Kendo practice, Joe frowned and stood up.

"I'll be back you guys, I just have to take this phone call," Joe called out as he walked towards the door.

"Is it your girlfriend?" One of his friends called out, snickering. Joe glowered at the group of friends and walked out of the restaurant.

Joe finally answered the phone. "Hey Cody, how's it going?"

"Hi Joe. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, not at all. So what did you call about? I thought you have kendo practice around this time," Joe said, pulling his eyebrows together as he checked to make sure he had Cody's schedule down properly.

"Yeah I did, but Sensei is giving me the day off, so I thought both of us could go to the digital world and see the digimon," Cody asked, a hint of expectation in his voice.

"Uh, sure… but why me when you can take Kari, or T.K., or anyone else?" Joe asked, slightly confused by the smaller boy's request.

"Mainly because we have water digimon, I thought we could go see Whalemon and let our digimon hang out in the water and everything. And I know we haven't been to the digital world recently, so I thought this might be a nice trip. Also, Armadillomon has been dying to see Gomamon," Cody finished.

"Okay. Then how about I come by your place in an hour or so?" Joe asked. He had finished his classes for the day and had just finished his lunch. He decided to head back to his apartment, gather a couple of things as well as Gomamon, call Mimi, and then head over to Cody's place.

"Ok. Thanks Joe!" Cody said as he hung up the phone.

With that taken care of, Joe walked back into the eatery to find his friends ready to go.

"All set Joe?" Matthew asked as he pulled his vest back on and started walking towards the blue haired man. Joe nodded and they headed back to campus. With a quick good bye, Joe gave an excuse that he had to meet someone later today, which was true, but didn't go into detail as he jogged back to his apartment complex which was located a couple of blocks down from the university.

Sighing, Joe grabbed the elevator lift up to the 4th floor and walked over to his room. Luckily he found a corner suite and he was able to live alone, without a roommate… which was good for studying and hiding Gomamon, but also bad because of the lack of company and social life. Shrugging that thought off, Joe opened the door with a swift 'whoosh' and Gomamon came walking around the corner.

Gomamon stuck only his head out from behind the wall that was placed between the entrance and the dining area, a small wall in width, and checked to make sure it was just Joe who walked in. Unfortunately, when Joe had brought one of his friends over to let her borrow his notes, Gomamon came flying at him, thinking he was alone. The poor girl got a shock of a lifetime and ran straight out of his apartment and never came back. Luckily she wasn't in his summer course or he would be in a tough situation pretty much every day.

The small, white digimon came flying over and landed onto Joe's shoulders as Joe took a seat on the small, two-seater couch in his living room area. "So did you bring me anything to eat?" the digimon asked with a curious look on his face. Joe nodded, rummaged through his bag and placed a box of sushi and a small cake on the table. Gomamon's face lit up with delight, as if he had received his Christmas gift a couple months early, and immediately dug into the food.

Meanwhile, Joe picked up the cordless phone that was on the small coffee table and dialed Mimi's number. Two rings later, he heard a soft voice on the other end.

"Hello?" a soft and quiet voice answered.

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for Mimi?" Joe asked, unsure if it was the same bubbly girl that he knew. It didn't sound like her.

"This is she. Who's this?"

"Hi Mimi! It's Joe. How are you?"

"Oh! Hi Joe! I'm great. I was actually watching a movie with some friends. It's midnight over here and we were planning on pulling an all-nighter anyways. It's summer vacation so we decided to go to sleep late, and get up late!" Mimi said, excitement filling her voice.

"Haha. Awesome. That's nice. I'm stuck here taking classes with a really boring professor. I'm just about to head over to the digital world with Cody to spend some quality time with our digimon. Plus Gomamon hasn't seen anyone else for a while, except for the time when Tai was in bit of a fix."

"Yeah. Oh, my friends are calling me again. I'll call you later, Joe?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah. I'll talk to you later Mimi." Joe said, as he got ready to hang up the phone. He could hear Mimi scream 'I'm coming' to her friends in the background.

"Alright Joe. I'll talk to you later! Bye!"

"Bye." Joe said with slight disappointment as he hung up the phone. '_For some reason, that's not how I wanted it to go. Oh well. Now for Cody,' _Joe said to himself as he got up onto his feet.

"Gomamon, want to go to the digital world today?" Joe asked as Gomamon licked his lips and savored the flavor of the sushi.

"Sure! I'd love to, but what's the occasion?" Gomamon asked, slightly confused as to why they're going to the digital world on a weekday. Well granted it was a Friday, and Joe had no classes, but they rarely went to the digital world since he had school now.

"Well, Armadillomon and Cody want to see you. So let's go!" Joe said, pumping his fist into the air. He grabbed a hold of Gomamon and went over to the computer in his room. Holding Gomamon under his arm on one side, he rummaged through his pocket for his digivice and opened a digital portal to the digiworld.

"Three, Two, One, here we go!" Gomamon yelled as excitement took over his body.

As they landed by the seaside, they looked around for the small boy and Armadillomon.

"Hey, Joe!" the blue haired guy heard from a couple of yards away. Turning around, he saw Cody and his digimon approach them. Gomamon squeezed out from underneath Joe's arm and flew over to the other digimon.

"Let's go swimming!" Gomamon said as he pulled the other digimon towards the water.

"Nuh uh… only if Cody digivolves me, will I go into the water… looking like this, I might sink!" Armadillomon said, his eyes wide at the thought of drowning. "Cody?"

"Okay." Cody took his digivice out and pointed it towards Armadillomon.

"Armadillomon digivolve to, Submarinmon."

Both Submarinmon and Gomamon took off into the water and then turned back to their friends after a few minutes.

"Hey, do you guys want to come to?" Gomamon asked, remembering that Cody and Joe were also with them.

"Sure," Cody said as Submarinemon's top opened up for Cody to get in. Gomamon asked Joe to digivolve him into Ikkakumon and Joe climbed onto the massive digimon's back. Both digimon and their partners spent some quality time with their digimon.

After a couple of hours spent on the open sea, the two boys finally decided to head back seeing that it was getting late and Cody's parents would be wondering where he went. So with a hug and goodbye, Cody went back to his home and Joe returned back to his apartment.

-----

Two days after Davis sent his message-

Kari was lying on her bed, Gatomon on lying on her stomach as she was going through her adventures before she met Kari.

"When I first came to this world, I still remember, there was this dog that chased me up a fence the first time…" Gatomon said, her eyes glazed over in remembrance. Kari laughed.

"I would have loved to see that!" Kari replied. She heard a soft beeping coming from her desk, so she gently placed Gatomon on the bed and got up to take a look. Glancing at her d-terminal, she opened it and found that she had two new emails.

Opening the first one, she said, "Oh! It's from Davis!" Gatomon rolled her eyes and thanked god that Veemon wasn't left with Taichi or Kari. He would be sticking like glue to her by now. Kari quickly scanned the email and then came over to sit on the bed with a shocked look on her face.

"What did that goggle head say?" Gatomon asked looking curious.

"Wow… I can't believe that Davis is getting a girlfriend!" Kari gasped out. "I have to tell someone," she said as she ran out of her room. Kari threw open her room door and ran out into the hall but didn't get very far as she crashed into her brother. Tai was pushed backwards, stumbled over Agumon, who was following him like a dutiful pet, not that he is one, and Tai ended up crashing down onto the floor on top of poor Agumon.

"Oh my god, Tai, I'm sorry!" Kari apologized as she helped her brother back up to his feet. Then all of a sudden, Kari shouted, "Guess what? Davis is getting a girlfriend! Can you believe it?"

"What?" Tai asked, just to make sure he was hearing this properly. "I thought he liked you…" he said, but secretly hoping that she would hook up with T.K.

'_Wait a minute. If she and T.K. go out, then Matt and I have to keep seeing each other in the near future, and with our unstable relationship right now, I'm not sure how it's going to go over with Matt… and throwing Sora into the picture, that will complicate everything even more…… _

_I think I'm getting headache…'_ Tai thought as his mind went back to what his sister was saying.

"I thought he did, but apparently he found someone else that he really liked over there… I think he decided to ask her that night or something… I'm going to email him and ask him if he's asked her out yet," Kari said as she raced back into her room.

Tai shook his head and continued his trek to the bathroom. Agumon went over to the couch and settled down as he waited for Tai to make him a nice lunch. As soon as Tai came back from his bathroom break, he heard the doorbell ring. He knitted his eyebrows together as he wondered who could be at the door at this time of day. It was in the middle of the week, and at a time when most people are out or working… true it was summer, but not many people knew that Tai and Kari were home that day.

Tai walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. He saw a flash of dark red hair and smiled. As he opened the door, a not-so-tall guy greeted him.

"Hey Tai!" Izzy said as Taichi gestured for him to come in.

"Hi Izzy. Glad you can finally come over and fix my computer!" Tai said laughing. Izzy smiled, took off his shoes and stepped into the apartment.

"How are you, Tai? After what happened in the digital world, I think we were all scared about you," Izzy said as he walked over to Tai's room, Tai leading the way.

"I'm alright. I'm a lot better than I was last week," the brown haired boy said as he showed Izzy his computer. "Well, here it is… the source of all my problems…"

Izzy chuckled and turned on the computer to find out where the problem lied.

"Do you want anything to eat Izzy? I'm going to make myself a sandwich," Tai said.

"I would love one of those drinks your mom made a couple of years ago," Izzy said as he stared at the computer screen.

"Uh, didn't that drink give you an upset stomach afterwards?" Tai asked, his face turning green at that thought. "Never mind, I'll just make you a sandwich as well," he said finally as he walked out of the room, leaving the technical stuff to Izzy.

The brown eyed boy walked into the kitchen and took out a couple of slices of bread, some other ingredients from the fridge and started on making three sandwiches. He filled them full of stuff, so they wouldn't ask for seconds. Taking one for Agumon, he placed the sandwich in front of the yellow digimon and placed a glass of water beside the plate.

"Thanks Tai!" Agumon nodded as he dug into the sandwich, his eyes glued to the t.v.

Taichi brought out two more plates and then proceeded to take his sandwich and Izzy's back to his room. He handed the other sandwich to the red headed boy and placed his glass of water on the table next to the computer.

"What are you doing?" Tai asked, not wanting to be lost, and trying to learn something just incase something like this happened again. He didn't want to keep calling Izzy over every time something went wrong with his computer.

"Well," Izzy started, as he rummaged through the bag he brought with him. He found the CD he was looking for and inserted it into the CD drive and waited for it to be recognized by the computer. He typed in a few commands and the program on the CD started installing onto the computer. "I'm trying to install this program so that it will detect any bugs or viruses your computer gets before it becomes too bad or something. And I'll be running a couple more tests just to make sure that the virus is gone."

"What do you mean the virus is gone?" Tai asked.

"Well, I actually thought I'd find the virus on your computer, but it looks like it's moved to another computer and I can't find any trace of it at all on this one… I'm installing a couple of spy ware softwares to keep you notified if there is a virus on your computer," Izzy said with an interested look on his face.

'_Huh… I guess the virus is in me now… and not on my computer anymore,'_ Tai thought with a slightly shocked look on his face.

"Does that mean I can open a digiport on this computer now?" Tai asked.

"Without landing somewhere that you don't want to?" Izzy said. "Yes."

"Alright!" Tai shouted, pumping a fist into the air. "Can we try it now?" Tai asked as he ran over to the couch in the living room, grabbed Agumon under his arms and dragged him back into Tai's room.

"Sure, if you guys want to," Izzy said, shrugging. The CD was ejected from the computer and Izzy packed it away. He then ran a couple of quick tests on Tai's computer and then turned it off.

"But I can't come with you guys though. I told Ken I'm going to stop by his house for a minute or two to look over some computer project of his. Well, your computer is completely fixed now!" Izzy said as he grabbed his sandwich that Tai made and walked towards the apartment door. "Later guys," Izzy said as he left with a wave of his hand.

"Bye Izzy," Tai mumbled before he ran over to Kari's room to ask her if he could borrow her digivice since he couldn't find his digivice yet.

"Here you go Tai," she said as she threw him the pink digivice. Tai caught it with ease, thanked his sister and ran back over to his room, grabbing Agumon by the scruff, on the way back as he saw the little critter trying to escape back to the warmth of the couch in front of the t.v.

"No you don't, your coming with me to the digital world for a test round, Agumon!" Tai yelled out in glee as he selected a place at random in the digital world and pointed his sister's digivice at the screen. A bright glow filled the room, and as it dimmed down, the two bodies that were there disappeared to the digital world.

-----

The day after Tai went to the digital world, the sun shone pleasantly through the clean window of an apartment high up on the eighth floor of a tall building. Yamato "Matt" Ishida was currently tightly rolled up in a blanket, fast asleep on his bed, with a pleasant smile on his face.

_"Hey Matt!" the blonde haired boy heard someone call out behind him. Turning around, he saw a beautiful redhead come running up to him and jumped onto him as he spun her around by the waist._

"_Hey Sor! I've missed you," Matt said in a low, seductive voice as he placed her back onto the ground and he moved in for a kiss. _

_Sora placed a finger on his mouth before he could come any closer and said, "Nuh uh… you said you would take me bowling first… your not getting anything until we get there, buster!" as her laugher rang through the skies. Matt grinned as he looped an arm around her waist and led her to the bowling alley down the street. _

"_Here we are," Matt said as he leaned in again. As he closed his eyes again, he felt a soft touch upon his lips. When he opened his eyes for the second time, once again, Sora's finger was on his lips as she stood in front of him, shaking her head. _

"_Nope, sorry. You're not getting anything till I beat you this time!" Sora said with a determined look in her eyes. Matt smiled with a slightly dangerous look in his eyes._

"_Fine. Should I let you win then?" Matt asked, playfully._

"_If you do that, then you're definitely not getting any!" Sora laughed. _

"_Fine, fine…" Matt grumbled as he led them inside the alley. _

_Sora ran up to the counter and was about to pay for their four- hour rental tickets and shoes, but Matt stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. _

_"Don't worry about it, I'll pay… this time," he added with as a joke as Sora glared at him._

"_Well that's very… nice of you," Sora replied, suspicion filling her voice. "Are you just trying to get on my good side?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips. _

"_Maybe," Matt teased as he took out his wallet, paid the money the cashier asked and received two bowling alley tickets and two shoe rental tickets for his payment. "Here you go," the blonde said as he handed his girlfriend one of each. Sora ran over to the shoe counter, gave the man the shoe ticket and told him her shoe size. He went back for a minute or so and returned with her bowling shoes. Sora removed her shoes that she was currently wearing, gave them to the guy behind the counter and proceeded to lace up the bowling shoes. Matt did the same. _

_As soon as the game started, the four hours of bowling they had zoomed by as quickly as it had started with Sora ending up as the winner, winning by five strikes. Matt bowed his head down in defeat but smiled nonetheless knowing that he'll be a winner at the end of the day because he has the best girlfriend a guy could have. _

"_Great game!" Matt cheered on as he went up to his girlfriend, who was currently jumping up and down in excitement, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sora, caught up in the moment, grabbed his face and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips that left him speechless for the next couple of minutes. Sora had to drag him over to the counter to return his shoes and he finally regained his vocal cords as they exited the building. _

"_I'm sooo happy!" Sora gushed on and on as they walked back over to Matt's apartment. He had decided to cook lunch for the two of them so they could have a quiet setting to eat at instead of a busy take out place. _

_When they entered the apartment, Matt found a note on the dining table saying T.K. went to a friend's house and mom and dad were out for lunch at some fancy restaurant with a couple of old friends and won't be back until dinnertime. "So I guess that leaves just the two of us," Matt told Sora as she quickly read over the note herself. She nodded in response. _

"_So your mom and dad are back together?" Sora asked as Matt took some things out of the fridge and started cooking a preplanned dish. _

_Matt felt a weird sense of deja- vu wash over him as he remembered he had the same conversation a while ago. _

"_Yeah, after they found out about the digimon, and T.K. and I going off to another world and stuff, I guess they took comfort in each other because we weren't there, and after we battled the second time around in the digital world, I guess they thought they would give their marriage another try for our sakes and have been together for the past three years or so. I'm happy for them, and it's nice having a mom to cook food every once in a while!" Matt added with a grin. _

"_That's nice. My dad comes home often now, so mom's a lot happier, and is a lot easier on me now… well I guess she has to be, because we'll all be going off to college when school starts again, in a couple months…" Sora said. "So what are you making?" Sora asked as she sniffed the air. "It smells wonderful!" she said as she clapped her hands together. _

"_Hehe, sorry, can't tell you. You'll have to wait and see," Matt said as he placed the finishing touches on the food. He grabbed two plates and the rest of the utensils they needed and placed the lunch items in the middle of the table. _

_Half-hour later, both teenagers were settled down happily on the living room couch, their stomachs full with Matt's wonderful cooking. Sora grabbed the television remote from the table in front of her, curled up on the couch beside her boyfriend and flipped the t.v. on. _

_After about ten minutes of silence, Matt finally asked, "So, when do I get that kiss that you promised me?" his eyebrows rose in a questioning manner._

"_I thought I gave you one in the bowling alley?" Sora said absentmindedly as she continued to stare at the screen in front of her. _

"_Well, I thought it wasn't much of a kiss…" Matt muttered as he rubbed the back of his head._

"_Oh?" Sora asked as she turned her attention onto her boyfriend. "What would you have liked it to be?" _

"_This…" he whispered as his eyes took on a devilish glint and he leaned over her. Matt wrapped his arms around Sora's waist as he fell on top of her, making her lie down on the couch. He started kissing her neck, and slowly made his way up to her lips where he teased her slightly as he nipped at her playfully. She giggled slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Finally having enough, he closed his eyes as his lips met hers in a passionate kiss. Sora felt his tongue touch her lips and she opened her mouth slightly. _

_As Matt pulled away slightly to catch his breath again, he opened his eyes a crack and saw a strand of pink hair flutter over his girlfriend's face. Frowning, he opened his eyes all the way and was surprised to see himself on top of …_

"_Mimi?" Matt said out loud, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. Mimi pulled him down once more and met her lips with his. All thoughts left him as he felt her hand snake down to the top of his pants as she slowly tugged on his shirt, pulling it from under his pants. Shaking his head, Matt thought he was just seeing things. He closed his eyes and then reopened them and breathed out a sigh of relief as he found Sora still under him. She ran her hands over his sides and back, leaving a trail of fire behind. Matt closed his eyes once more and moaned out slightly as he nuzzled his head between Sora's neck and shoulder. He opened his eyes once more as he wondered why she stopped her ministrations when he found himself now staring at…_

"_JUN?" Matt was so shocked this time that he fell off the couch, onto the floor and scrambled back up to his feet as fast as he could. His hair was a mess, his shirt half tucked in, and his belt slightly loose…_

_Matt closed his eyes tightly, counted to ten and reopened his eyes. "Mimi?" Shaking his head, he wondered what was going on with him and closed his eyes again. As he opened them, he saw Mimi again. He closed his eyes once more, hoping to see Sora._

_Jun. Mimi. Mimi. Jun. Sora. "Sora!" Matt cried as he sat down on the couch next to her, trying not to blink again, afraid that she might leave. _

"_Matt, what's going on? You've been calling me Mimi, or Jun for the past ten minutes… is there something going on that I don't know about?" Sora said with a threatening voice as she glared at her boyfriend. When she recieved no answer from the shocked teenager, she got up to leave and Matt tried to stop her. _

"_Sora! Wait!" Matt yelled out. _

_Sora turned to Matt and gave him a sad glance. "Matt, sort out your feelings, and your head. Give me a call when you've made your decision," Sora said with finality as she walked out the apartment door. _

Matt woke up with a start, breathing in and out as if he had just run five miles. He felt his throat constricting as if he was just yelling and his heart pounding in his ears. As he slowly rolled out of bed, the dream came back to him and he stumbled over his sheets as he was getting out of bed and ended up on the floor, his legs tangled up in his bed sheets.

A knock at the door woke him out of his stupor and he answered with a 'yes,' his voice cracking as it was still filled with sleep.

"Are you okay, Matt?" his mom asked through the door.

"I'm fine mom," Matt replied as he got up off the floor and placed the blankets back on his bed. Running a hand through his hair, he thought about what he should do now. "I should probably call Sora and talk to her or something…" he said to himself. "But first I need to freshen up," Matt said as he finally realized that he didn't smell that good. Getting a towel and a set of clean clothes out of his closet, Matt opened his door a crack and looked around to see if his mom was still lingering around the door. He didn't exactly want his mom to see him in just his boxers running around the house.

'_It was so much easier to get around dressed like this when it was just dad and I… of course it's great having mom here now, but…'_ Matt shook his head and ran to the bathroom when he realized his mom was in the kitchen cooking lunch. '_Wow, is it that late already?'_ Matt thought as he glanced at the clock above the living room couch on his way to that bathroom. "Oh well."

Matt quickly stripped down and jumped into the shower, yelping slightly as he found the water had not warmed up all the way and was slightly cold to the touch. "Well, that's one way to wake up," the boy grumbled under his breath as he washed his hair. Once he was completely clean and his teeth and hair taken care of, he dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. '_My hair's not that bad today!'_ he thought as he smiled back at his reflection. Grinning at his antics, Matt finally got over himself and went out of the bathroom to call Sora.

After a couple of rings, he heard a pleasant voice at the other end of the line. "Hey Sora, this is Matt."

"Hey Matt," Sora replied, a little bit of hesitancy showing through. Matt just ignored it thinking it must be something with her mom.

"I was wondering if you were free today, if you wanted to go somewhere and hang out," Matt asked.

"Um… I'm sorry Matt; I actually have other plans for today. But I do want to talk to you about something actually. Is it okay if I come over in about half an hour or so?" Sora asked.

"Oh, uh, I guess it was my fault asking so late. Sorry. Yeah, anytime today is fine. I don't think I'll be doing anything today anyways, so you can stop by anytime," said Matt as he let out a sigh. '_I hope my nightmare doesn't come true…'_ Matt thought as a whisper of fear made its way into his heart. '_But then again, I don't think our relationship is going anywhere at this point… and I don't think it's gone anywhere for the past year or so now that I think about it…'_ Matt finally turned his attention back to the phone but found a dial tone and realized that Sora must have said bye and hung up while he was lost in his thoughts.

Hanging up the phone himself, Matt went over to the kitchen and was greeted by his mom with a kiss on the cheek. "Yamato, take a seat over there and I'll get breakfast? lunch?... i guess it's a very late breakfast, ready for you." Matt nodded and took a seat.

Sniffing the air, the blonde haired boy commented, "Something smells really good mom!"

"Thank you honey," she replied back as she brought over a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and some juice. "I called Mimi's mom the other day and she gave me some recipes to try out. She said she loved this kind of breakfast that they gave in a hotel in America," Matt's mom said smiling, as she took a seat at the table, in front of her oldest son. "So how is it?" she asked, eagerly waiting for a response.

Matt, his face stuffed with food, replied, "It's really good!" as he swallowed what was in his mouth and took another humongous bite of food. Shaking her head, the blonde's mom smiled and got up and started on getting the house cleaned up.

-----

Tai got up with a yawn and glanced at the clock on his bedroom wall. '_9:30 a.m. huh? Might as well get up I guess, since I can't sleep…'_ Throwing the blankets off his body, Tai rolled off his bed and walked over to the bathroom to relieve himself. After he was done with his business, the brown haired boy splashed some extremely cold water on his face. Giving a slight yelp as the cold water made contact with his skin, he thought to himself, '_That definitely woke me up!'_ Shaking himself off like a dog would, Taichi grabbed the towel off the rack, wiped his face of excess water and went over to the kitchen to get himself a bowl of cereal, since that was the only edible thing in the kitchen at that time, and was very easy and quick to make. His parents were still asleep and he didn't want to wake them up just to make him breakfast.

Taichi took his breakfast to the couch where he took a seat and turned on the t.v. He heard a soft creaking noise behind him so he turned around, wondering what that noise could have been. He saw a yellow head from over the top of the couch and grinned.

"Hey buddy, I hope I didn't wake you up, did I?" Agumon shook his head and took a seat beside his friend and glanced at the t.v.

"What time is it?" Agumon asked.

Tai glanced at the VCR under the t.v. and told Agumon the time. "It's 9:55, why?"

Agumon's eyes widened and he leaned over Taichi to grab the remote from the boy's hand. "Hey… what… what are you doing?" Taichi yelled out as Agumon finally had the remote in his grasp.

"My show comes on at 10! I need to be ready!" Agumon yelled back as he switched the channels quickly.

"Huh? What show?" Tai asked, frowning. "I didn't know you had a _show_…I thought you just watched what Kari and Gatomon watched," Tai supposed.

Agumon just watched the VCR and waited for it to show '10:00' so he could watch his show. Tai shook his head and got up off the couch.

"Alright, have it your way," Taichi said as he took his breakfast and went to his room, leaving the door slightly open if Agumon wanted to come in. He went over to his computer and took a CD from inside his drawer. He placed it in the CD drive in the computer and waited for the computer open the file. Taichi finished his cereal in a couple of gulps and double clicked on the file that opened in front of him. He grabbed a joystick from under his desk and connected it to his computer and waited for the game to boot. Grinning, the brown haired boy was lost in the game for the next couple of hours.

A few hours later, Taichi's eyes were getting a little sore so he decided to take a break. He saved the game, turned off the monitor, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, he could hear a voice that sounded very familiar.

"Okay mom, I'll do it later… oh, the phone!" the person said with a slight gasp.

'_Sora? It sounds like Sora… what is she doing over here? Did her mom drop her off or something?' _Tai wondered as he got up and walked out of his room. "Kari? Did you invite Sora over? He asked as he went into the living room and looked over at the entrance.

Agumon looked up from the t.v. as he heard Tai come into the living room, asking if Sora was here. Since there was a commercial playing on TV, Agumon could spare some time and talk to Tai.

"Tai, what are you talking about? Sora never came here and Kari's still asleep," Agumon said as he saw Gatomon stick her head out of Kari's room, with a fierce look on her face and said, 'shhhh!' and went back into the room, closing the room door quietly.

"That's weird, I thought I heard Sora's voice," Taichi said, with a slightly dumbed out look on his face. He turned around and walked back into his bedroom. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, Tai took a seat back in his chair in front of his computer and closed his eyes again.

He suddenly heard Sora's voice again as clearly as if she were standing next to him.

"_Oh great… it's Matt," Sora said out loud to no one in particular. _"She must have seen the caller id or something," Tai said to himself. He went back to the conversation that Sora was currently having. "I shouldn't be eavesdropping like this," the brown haired boy said with a slight grin on his lips, his eyes still closed.

_"Hey Matt," Sora replied, a little bit of hesitancy showing through._

Somehow, Taichi could hear Matt too, even though Matt lived a little further away from him than Sora did.

"_I was wondering if you were free today, if you wanted to go somewhere and hang out," Matt asked._

"_Um… I'm sorry Matt; I actually have other plans for today. But I do want to talk to you about something actually. Is it okay if I come over in about half an hour or so?" Sora asked._ "Yeah man! She has plans with me!" Tai yelled out, a wide grin appearing on his face, happy to know Sora decided to hang out with him over Matt.

"_Oh, uh, I guess it was my fault asking so late. Sorry. Yeah, anytime today is fine. I don't think I'll be doing anything today anyways, so you can stop by anytime," said Matt as he let out a sigh. _

_"Bye Matt," Sora said. After hearing no reply from the blonde, she guessed that he had hung up and hung up the phone on her end as well. "Well, I guess that means I should go shower now…" Sora whispered to herself._

Tai could easily hear the noises going on at the Takenouchi residence and heard the redhead go up the flight of stairs in her house to the bathroom, he assumed. With his eyes still closed, he let his body completely focus on the sounds around him, and currently, the only sounds that he was listening to was over at Sora's. He heard what he thought was the light rustling of clothes and then rushing water. The brown haired boy's face turned a bright red as he heard the red head give a slight moan as she stepped into the warm bath. He heard a bit of splashing…. And as soon as he was getting comfortable in his chair, allowing his imagination to run wild for once, Tai's eyes flew open as a heavy weight landed on his stomach.

"Oof… Agumon!" Taichi yelled out, pushing the digimon off of him. "Why'd you do that?" Tai asked, slightly frustrated that Agumon ruined the best part.

"Well, my show is over now and so I thought I'd let you know that the t.v. is all yours now," Agumon said as he jumped over onto Tai's bed and got comfy so he could fall asleep again. Taichi rolled his eyes at the digimon and tried to close his eyes again, straining his ears as far as it could go to hear what was happening at Sora's house. He could easily hear his dad's snores now, but Sora's was out of the picture for a while.

'_I guess I should find out how I do that when it happens next time,'_ Tai sighed as he got up and went over to the couch to watch some television.

-----

Sora quickly got dressed and grabbed a backpack that she could carry Biyomon in. "Biyomon, make sure you act like a stuffed animal," Sora reminded her friend as Biyomon went into the backpack. Sora then left her apartment building and broke into a jog towards Matt's. She made it there in about ten minutes and took the elevator up to the 8th floor. Mrs. Ishida answered the door and let the girl in with a pleasant hello. She saw her blonde haired boyfriend sitting on the couch and went over to him. He greeted her with a smile and moved over to one end of the couch so Sora had room to sit on it.

Placing her bag, and Biyomon by the door, she greeted Matt with a "Hey," as she sat down next to Matt.

"Hi yourself," Yamato said with a smile. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem, you're my boyfriend! Of course I'd make time for you… though I can't cancel my plans for today," Sora said with an apologetic smile on her lips.

In the back of his head, the blonde wondered what plans she had and who she was going with, but he planned on waiting until right before she left to ask her.

"Um, yeah, that's what I've been wanting to talk to you about," Matt started. Sora gave him a questioning look. "Well, I haven't been much of a boyfriend to you for the past year or so, and I think both of us know that," Matt said, pausing to take a deep breath and waited to see her reaction. Her face was stoic so he continued on. _'A neutral reaction was better than an angry one,'_ he decided.

"I had a weird dream last night, and it got me thinking about us. Don't ask me about the dream, because I'm not ready to tell it to you," said Matt apologetically. Sora nodded, understanding his predicament so she did not push for any rhyme or reason.

"While I was waiting for you to come, I first thought, maybe we should hang out more, I should take you out on dates more often, and that I probably don't spend that much time with you anymore and should change that. But is that what we really want? Is that what you want? We still talk and everything, but I feel we were closer when we were just friends than we are now. I know my band is at the top of my list right now, and you're getting ready for college and everything, and you'll probably be moving out to some other place, and I don't think our relationship can handle that. Especially since it's so unstable now." Matt paused when he saw Sora open her mouth to say something.

"You're right, I have been thinking lately that our relationship was at a stand still and it was like having a really good friend that you just made out with once in a while, to put in layman's terms…" Sora said with a slight laugh. Matt smiled at her analogy. "And recently, my feelings towards you have started changing towards more platonic feelings than feelings of love. I know it might have started out that way… actually I think it was just a big crush back then, that I thought was love. Two and a half years really opened my eyes," she said with a smile.

"I guess back then, I was waiting for someone to return my feelings, but I guess I was the one who didn't express it properly, and by the time he had matured enough, I fell for you…" Sora trailed off.

"It's Taichi isn't it?" Yamato stated, knowing that it was the truth. Sora just looked at the floor and Matt took that as a yes. Matt gritted his teeth together and warned, "I don't think you should go near him right now… he looked really dangerous back in the digital world."

Sora glared at Matt and said, "That was another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I found Tai right after you left the digital world and he wanted to apologize to you about what happened."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to believe anything until I talk to him myself. I don't know what's going on with him but I'll probably get Gabumon to come with me when I talk to him… sometime next week," he added as an after thought. Sora hesitated but nodded anyways, understanding how Matt could be scared of Tai. Matt did not see the brown haired boy while he recovered, and all of a sudden, seeing such a change in him would shock anyone.

After a few minutes of silence, Matt broke it by saying, "So… I think we should just take some time off for a bit, sort out our feelings, and after you get ready for college, see how it is there, I'll take care of things over here, and if you and I still want to get back together, we can do that," he concluded with a nod.

Sora totally agreed with him and smiled. "You're right. I think some time off would be good." Sora jumped at Matt and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Matt just laughed and hugged her back as he fell back onto the couch. As the red head lifted her head off his shoulder, she placed her lips by his ear, whispered, 'a kiss goodbye,' and placed her lips on his. Matt's eyes widened slightly as he was completely caught off guard. He closed his eyes and kissed her back for a few seconds and both of them pulled away. Smiling slightly, Sora got up off the couch and walked towards the door. Matt followed her and led her out of the apartment.

"Make sure you call Tai soon," she said as she turned to walk towards the elevators.

"I will," Matt smiled as he waved goodbye. "Some how I get the feeling that we'll be seeing each other again very soon Sor," Matt whispered to himself as he hummed a soft tune under his breath. His heart felt a little lighter as he walked back over to the couch, knowing that Sora and he were closer friends than ever before.

-----

Taichi sighed for the tenth time as he idly watched a cooking show on t.v. His mind was serenely blank as he closed his eyes.

"_It's Taichi isn't it?" Yamato stated, knowing that it was the truth. Sora just looked at the floor and Matt took that as a yes. Matt gritted his teeth together and warned, "I don't think you should go near him right now… he looked really dangerous back in the digital world."_

_Sora glared at Matt and said, "That was another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I found Tai right after you left the digital world and he wanted to apologize to you about what happened."_

Tai opened his eyes with a jolt and wondered what that was. _'I don't think that was a memory… could I actually hear what Matt and Sora were saying just now?'_ Taichi thought to himself. He thought back to how he felt before he heard Matt and Sora and found his mind in a complete state of tranquility. '_I guess I can try clearing my mind or something and then listening for her voice.'_ Tai closed his mind and worked on clearing his mind of all thoughts. He took in a couple of deep breaths and let his body relax, not really focusing on hearing anything.

"_So… I think we should just take some time off for a bit, sort out our feelings, and after you get ready for college, see how it is there, I'll take care of things over here, and if you and I still want to get back together, we can do that," he concluded with a nod._

"_You're right. I think some time off would be good." Tai could hear Matt laughing and then heard Sora whisper 'a kiss goodbye.' _

Immediately after that, Taichi opened his eyes and let his thoughts rush back into his head. He really did not want to think about what they were doing, and just hoped that she would kiss him on the cheek or something.

Trying to get his mind off of Matt for now, the brown haired boy glanced at the clock on the wall in front of him and realized that Sora would now be on her way over to his house. "Yikes, I should go and get ready before she comes over," Tai yelled out as he rushed back to his room to grab a towel and a change of clean clothes. He saw Agumon sleeping on the bed and gently woke him up.

"Agumon!" Tai finally yelled, into the yellow digimon's ear.

"What? What? I didn't eat it!" Agumon yelled out as he was woken up. Tai laughed at the still- sleepy Agumon and then remembered that Sora would be over in a couple of minutes.

"Agumon, Sora will be here in a couple minutes. You'll need to open the door for her. I'm going to go shower now, okay?" Tai asked as he rushed to the bathroom. He didn't wait for an answer knowing that Agumon would comply.

Five minutes into his shower, Taichi heard the doorbell ring and heard a pair of feet shuffling towards the door.

"Hi Sora!" Agumon greeted her.

"Hi Agumon," Biyomon greeted as she flew out of the bag onto the floor. Sora too greeted Agumon and then took a seat at the dining table.

"I guess the rest of the family is still asleep ?" Sora asked Agumon. He nodded and then walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Agumon asked as he tried to reach for the fridge handle. He tried jumping, but still couldn't reach high enough to grab it and then open it. Sora muffled a laugh and went over to help the small digimon.

"Sure, I'll take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Biyomon said as she raised a wing into the air. She flew up and sat on the table.

"Okay, one PB and J sandwich coming up," Sora said as she lifted Agumon and placed him on the table beside Biyomon. He took a seat and pouted, mad that he couldn't reach the fridge door handle.

Biyomon patted Agumon on the shoulder and said, "That's okay, that's what the humans are for," laughing.

Sora laughed and said, "Fine then, you can make your own sandwich, I'll make this one for myself," grinning as she got the peanut butter and jelly out of one of the cabinets. Looking in the fridge, she found the bread and washed a couple of plates and a knife from the sink. After getting all of the supplies, the auburn haired girl started making the sandwiches, one for Biyomon, one for Agumon and one for Tai, knowing both the boys would ask as soon as they saw the food.

As soon as she started on the last sandwich, she heard a door open and looked behind her. She saw the bathroom door open and then remembered Agumon mentioning that Tai went to take a shower. Turning back around, she continued on with her task.

Unfortunately for Taichi, he accidentally dropped some of his clothes in his room so he had to go back to his room, only clad in a towel. Sighing, the boy opened the bathroom door and looked to see if either his parents or Kari were awake. He heard some utensils knocking together in the kitchen and saw Sora making something. He looked over to her right and saw both their digimon sitting on the table, drooling at the mouth.

A couple of thoughts passed through his mind and his eyes took on an playful glint. Laughing, he decided to have a bit of fun. '_After all, she is single now, there's no harm in it… unless my parents wake up,'_ Tai thought with a groan. Grinning, he momentarily forgot that he was only clad in a towel and crept up behind Sora. The digimon saw him coming but he silenced them with a finger to his lips. They just watched him and laughed.

Taichi tiptoed up to where Sora was, came up behind her and placed his lips right next to her ear. He took in a deep breath, through his nose, and realized that she smelled really good. '_Must be jasmine or something flowery… well she does work in a flower shop,'_ Taichi thought to himself.

The brown haired boy then whispered a soft, and low 'hi' into her ear and watched her scream in terror. She turned around, pointing her knife at him, but just ended up being pinned between the counter and Tai's body. He placed his hands on either side of her, to grip the counter so he wouldn't fall backwards.

"Wow, watch the knife, missy," he said as she caught her breath.

"Taichi!" the red head screamed as she continued pointing the knife at him. Tai just grinned at her in response and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hi!" was all he said after that.

Sora was momentarily shocked and ended up dropping the knife. It landed with a loud 'clang' on the floor but neither of them took notice. Tai was too caught up in the smell of food behind Sora so he leaned over to get himself one of those sandwiches. As he leaned over, he unintentionally pressed up against Sora, his body against hers. Sora's hands, still up in the air from where she was holding the knife to his throat, immediately wrapped themselves around the brown haired boy's neck so she wouldn't bend back onto the counter.

"Yum! Sandwiches, and my favorite kind too!" he said as he kissed the girl's cheek again. This time, Sora went completely red. "Thanks!" Tai said in appreciation as he pulled back, with a sandwich in one hand. The digimon were just watching quietly as the scene played out in front of them. They needed some form of entertainment in their lives!

Sora gulped slightly and let go of Tai's neck, her arms falling to her side. As they did so, her fingers accidentally brushed against his already loose towel, making it come apart completely. All of a sudden, Tai felt a slight breeze pass by his legs and unanticipatedly realized his towel was under his feet. At the same time, Sora realized what happened and her eyes widened and she buried her burning face on Tai's shoulder.

"Oh my god… I'm sooo sorry Tai," Sora whispered over and over again, trying to apologize. Luckily there was a high wall in the way, between the dining table and the kitchen, so the digimon couldn't see everything.

Tai just laughed and pressed himself a little closer to Sora, so that way she wouldn't be able to see anything that he did not want her to see. "Just don't look down," he whispered into her ear.

All of a sudden, the digimon inside of him gave a mighty roar and he felt the sudden urge to kiss the girl in front of him senseless. The raw emotions were so strong that he started swaying on his feet. He grabbed Sora's waist with one hand and the counter with the other, throwing his sandwich back onto his plate before he grabbed the counter.

'_What was that?'_ he asked himself, panting slightly, but he knew the answer to that question himself. He was part digimon now and digimon, or other animals for that matter, didn't have all those dating and courtship rituals, they just went on raw emotions. If their feelings were reciprocated, then nature just called to them after that. Taichi gulped as he felt another wave of emotions hit him. He liked Sora… he really liked her, maybe even loved her, and he guessed that the digimon side of him knew that and was just doing what digimon did. '_Great, now I'll start acting like an animal… she'll probably think I'm trying to rape her or something,' _Taichi thought with annoyance. '_Damned digimon hormones...'_

After he calmed down, and felt the intensity of his emotions decrease, Tai heard Sora still whispering that she was sorry and he laughed.

"Hey," Tai started, his voice lowered so he wouldn't wake anyone up. He didn't want to be caught in such a situation. "Hey, don't worry about it… it happens all the time," Tai said, trying to get a laugh out of the girl in front of him, and at the same time, trying to make sure she was still listening to him. Sora lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him, her eyes wide with shock. "I'm joking! I'm joking!" Tai immediately said, wondering if the girl actually believed him. "I was just making sure you were still listening to me. Don't worry about it. I'll just bend down and get my towel," he started.

Sora suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable, finally realizing that she was pinned against the counter with a naked man pressed up against her. Not that she was protesting or anything, but this was her best friend and she had just broken up with her boyfriend, and the most that she did with him was kiss him. And all of a sudden… this happens.

Sora shifted slightly and her hands accidentally inched a little past his hips, and Tai's breath hitched in his throat. His hands immediately went down to grab hers and he placed them on his shoulders just to be safe. He leaned over and whispered, 'just to be safe,' to explain why he had placed her hands on his shoulders and all of a sudden, a weird urge took over his body. As soon as those words came out of his mouth, his tongue followed after and licked the side of her ear. Tai slowly felt himself give into his feelings as he slowly kissed and teased the girl's earlobe.

Sora was shocked at first but gave into the feelings momentarily as she closed her eyes and let out a very soft moan.

As soon as those feelings came, they were gone, and Taichi finally realized what he was doing. He pulled back as quick as possible, glanced at Sora's face, saw that her eyes were still closed and at that moment, Taichi bent down, grabbed his towel, wrapped it around his waist and ran to his room without glancing back.

-----

Authors Note:

Well, I hope this chapter was long enough for you all! The previous chapter was around 20 pgs, this one is close to 30! I even surprised myself! I actually wanted to continue writing, but I thought this was a good place to stop.

I was busy for the past few weeks getting ready for some tests. I had four tests this week and I'm exhausted. I was hoping to get this chapter up last weekend and the weekend before that, but I kept adding to it, never finding the right place to stop. This is, I guess, a filler chapter… and I felt like I wasn't explaining what was going on with the rest of the digidestined, so I took a break from just Tai and Sora and went to the other digidestined for a change.

Now Tai's going to have to explain himself, so if you want to see his explanation and Sora's reaction, not to mention the digimon,

**Please review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!**


	11. Training, Digimon Style

**Chapter XI: Training, Digimon Style**

Sora shifted slightly and her hands accidentally inched a little past his hips, and Tai's breath hitched in his throat. His hands immediately went down to grab hers and he placed them on his shoulders just to be safe. He leaned over and whispered, 'just to be safe,' to explain why he had placed her hands on his shoulders and all of a sudden, a weird urge took over his body. As soon as those words came out of his mouth, his tongue followed after and licked the side of her ear. Tai slowly felt himself give into his feelings as he slowly kissed and teased the girl's earlobe.

Sora was shocked at first but gave into the feelings of lust momentarily as she closed her eyes and let out a very soft moan.

As soon as those feelings came, they were gone, and Taichi finally realized what he was doing. He pulled back as quick as possible, glanced at Sora's face, saw that her eyes were still closed and at that moment, Taichi bent down, grabbed his towel, wrapped it around his waist and ran to his room without glancing back.

Sora was in complete shock. Her hands dropped to her sides as she stared at Tai's closed bedroom door. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to say something, but her voice wouldn't cooperate.

"Sora, are you okay?" Biyomon said, trying to hold back her giggles. Agumon was currently rolling on the table, laughing his lungs out.

"I'm going to check on Tai," the yellow dinosaur said as he hoped off the table and ran to Taichi's bedroom door. He knocked on it twice and the door opened, letting the digimon into the room. Sora could hear laughter from the boy's bedroom, probably Agumon, she guessed and some whispering.

Finally turning to look at Biyomon, she found her voice and then asked, "what just happened?" Biyomon just stared at her, silently asking her 'are you that dumb?' Sora went and sat down at the dining table, trying to clear her mind. She then heard a room door opening and turned to see Tai and Agumon emerging from the brown haired boy's bedroom. Tai turned to Agumon quickly and winked at him, but Sora didn't catch that unfortunately.

"Hey Sora," Taichi started, as he approached her. Then he suddenly turned and walked into the kitchen, brought the three plates out onto the dining table and took a seat next to the blushing girl. "So, how are you?" he asked casually as he took a big bite into his sandwich. Agumon, meanwhile, pulled a chair back from the dining table, climbed onto that and started eating his sandwich too.

"Uhh… um…" Sora had no clue what to say after what had just happened.

"What's wrong?" the brown-eyed boy asked, looking slightly concerned.

"What's wrong?" Sora repeated, slightly flustered that her friend had almost made out with her in the kitchen, and he wasn't even her boyfriend. "You're asking me what's wrong? Do you even know what you did?" she asked, getting annoyed and angrier by the minute.

"What did I do?" Tai questioned, raising an eyebrow. "All I did was take a shower and then go to my room and changed."

"What?" Sora asked as she stood up. "You practically made out with me in the kitchen! What were you thinking?" she yelled out.

"Shhh! My parents and Kari are still asleep!" Tai whispered as he placed his finger to his lips. Sora glared at him and sat down again with a 'humph.' "What are you talking about? Are you having fantasies about me, Sora?" Tai teased as he wiggled a finger at her.

"What?" the redhead spitted out as she looked from him to her digimon. "You saw what happened, right Biyomon? Agumon?"

"What happened?" Agumon asked dumbly. "You were making sandwiches, and I saw Tai go to his room and changed and came out here. I went to his room to tell him that you came," Agumon claimed. Biyomon nodded her head frantically.

"Huh?" Sora asked, confused. "I swear! You came up behind me and took a sandwich, scaring the shit out of me. Look, I even dropped the knife then!" Sora said as she pointed to the knife on the kitchen floor.

"I don't even remember coming to the kitchen after my shower," Tai said cautiously, giving Sora a weird glance.

"I know what I saw!" Sora growled out.

"Are you sure?" Tai asked. "Because…" _'I know you just broke up with your boyfriend, but I don't know if I should tell you that I know,'_ Tai thought to himself, contemplating on whether or not he should tell her that he sort of eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Yes I'm sure! You came to the kitchen, clad in only a towel, scared me, and then proceeded to tease me," Sora said with an angry face.

Tai grinned. "So you _are _fantasizing about me!" he said with glee.

'_Was it really all in my head?_' Sora thought to herself. '_No, I can't be going crazy. I'm 100 percent sure of what happened! I'll get Tai to admit it!_' Sora growled, stood up and grabbed Taichi by the ear, twisting it slightly.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tai asked as he tried to pry her hand away from his ear.

"I know what I saw, and you're just annoying me now," Sora said. "Admit it."

"Admit what?" Tai asked. Sora twisted his ear a little further. "Hey!" Tai yelled out. After twisting his ear a few times, Sora finally got Tai to admit defeat. "Fine! Fine! You weren't imagining things…" Tai groaned out, rolling his eyes as the redhead finally let go of his ear. He rubbed his now red ear as he gave her a slight glare. Sora just stared back at him with a smug smile on her face. Then she turned to the two digimon on the table.

"Where you two in his stupid plans too?" she asked, glaring at them. They just looked at the table with a defeated look. Sora shook her head as she walked to the couch and took a seat in front of the television. Sighing, she finally said, "Whenever you guys are done eating, we'll leave for the digital world."

Taichi finished up his sandwich, placed the plate in the sink and came over to join Sora on the couch. The digimon were still taking their time eating. The brown haired teen took a seat next to his best friend and got comfortable.

"Um," he started, not knowing exactly how to explain what he did to her. He felt kind of bad afterwards, leaving her like that with no explanation whatsoever.

"What?" Sora asked, turning to face him.

"I'm… I'm sorry about what happened… in the kitchen," Tai confessed. Well, he wasn't completely sorry, he was just sorry that he might have taken it too fast and scared her off a bit. Sora nodded, indicating for him to continue.

"I know you broke up with Matt," Tai blurted out as he turned to look at the girl next to him.

"What?" Sora asked, wondering how news can travel so fast. She wasn't mad at him, after all, the rest of the digidestined were going to find out sooner or later. "What do you mean? Did Matt call you or something?"

"No… um… I think it's one more of those… digimon traits that I have. Sensitive hearing."

Now Sora was interested. She sat up a little striated and said, "continue."

Taking a deep breath, "Well, it actually comes and goes… I can hear things probably around a mile away? I think so. I was sitting here, watching TV, and all of a sudden, I can hear you and Matt talking. It feels as if I'm right next to you guys, but I'm not. It's weird. Anyways, I heard that you two broke up. Sorry," Tai said, feeling as if he had to apologize.

"Well, I guess it was coming anyways. I'm not too sad about it because I knew it was going to happen one of these days. We're not as close as we were when we were first dating and I think we're better off as friends anyways. Plus, I think he has a thing for Mimi or Jun, as much as I hate to say it. He used to hate that girl! But I caught him the other day, talking to her, and he sounded really happy too," Sora explained.

"I guess, it was just a huge crush that I had on him." Tai placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort and she smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Actually, I feel a lot better now, not tied down to anyone. It was like, he was a really good friend, but because we were calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, even though we were not doing anything, we sort of restricted ourselves from dating anyone else," Sora shrugged. "And I'm not mad at you," she added, looking at Tai.

"Of course you're not! How could you be mad at someone like me?" Tai asked, giving a puppy-dog look at her. Sora laughed and shook her head.

"That's why I fell in love with you," Sora muttered to herself, smiling. She thought Tai couldn't hear her, but she was wrong. He could hear it loud and clear and he grinned. He wouldn't ask her if it's true just yet, not wanting to embarrass her, but he would eventually. He was going to have fun teasing her, and letting her realize that she is still head over heels in love with him and there is nothing she can do about it. And he was going to thoroughly enjoy it.

"Let's get going to the digital world then," Tai finally said as he stood up when he saw the two digimon come over to the couch. Sora nodded and got up with him. "Oh, Izzy fixed my computer, so we can go from my room," Tai commented.

"What happened to the virus that was on it?" Sora asked.

"It's in me," Taichi said with a slightly downcast look on his face. Sora smiled sympathetically and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this together. I think you need me more than Matt does, so I'll stay with you whenever you need me. Okay?" she reassured him as they walked to his room. Tai nodded in appreciation.

"Thanks."

"Now let's go to the digital world," Agumon said impatiently as he waited in front of the computer terminal, tapping his foot on the ground.

"Sheesh, someone's impatient," Biyomon commented as she flew over to Agumon's side.

Agumon just replied, "I have an appointment with Blackwargreymon today." Tai and Sora just gave him weird looks as he said that.

"So now you have a show, and you're having meetings with other digimon? What's going on Agumon?" Tai questioned.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to find out what's going on in the digital world, see if anyone knows about those evil digimon that attack us and if someone else is behind all of this," Agumon told his friends.

"Wow, that's a lot coming from you, Agumon," Biyomon said as she settled down on the floor.

"Now can we go?" Agumon pleaded as Sora took her digivice out of her back pocket. Agumon told her where he had to meet Blackwargreymon and Sora took them there.

Once there, Agumon scampered off a little ways to the meeting point and told the rest of them that they could stay in the general area and he would come back within the hour. Tai rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Now even my digimon is taking charge of everything," Tai sighed.

Sora laughed. Then she remembered something. "Hey Tai, did you ever find your digivice?"

"Um… no I didn't. I'm not even sure where I lost it. I didn't have it when I came back from the digital world the other day, remember?" Tai questioned as he tried to think back to where his digivice could be. "I'm not sure, it might have fallen down in the digital world or something and a digimon might have picked it up perhaps… I remember I had it when I first came to the digital world on my virus-infested computer, and had it up till the point where we were in Gennai's house, but after that, I think I lost it somewhere…" Tai traced back.

"So then it probably is in the digital world. We can stop by Gennai's and ask if he's seen your digivice if you want," Sora offered.

"Yea, that would be great!" Tai replied. "Once Agumon's done chatting, Biyomon, do you think you can take us to Gennai's place?" Tai asked the small bird.

"Sure!"

After a couple minutes of silence while waiting for Agumon, Tai finally decided on talking to Biyomon about his… plans for Sora. "Biyomon, could I talk to you for a second?" Tai asked as he looked at the pink digimon.

"Okay…" Biyomon replied, looking slightly confused.

"Come with me then," Tai just said as he walked away. "Oh, Sora, could you please stay where you are?" Tai asked with a pleading face.

"Why?" Sora asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Um, cause I need to ask Biyomon something… just stay there, I promise nothing going to happen to her," Tai said as he dragged the flying digimon a few yards away from Sora. When he was finally sure that they were far enough from hearing distance, Taichi then turned to Biyomon and started explaining why he dragged the poor bird so far without an explanation.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to ask you a couple of things about Sora."

"Okay, go ahead," Biyomon said.

"Well, first off, I wanted to ask you if you will be okay if… if Sora and I…" Tai didn't know how to even ask a digimon if she would be cool if he started dating her friend, if it ever came to that… first he had to make Sora actually fall in love with him… '_Should I even be asking Biyomon this? Shouldn't I ask Sora's mom and dad for permission instead?'_ Tai thought to himself, sighing loudly.

"What is it?" Biyomon asked as she flew onto Tai's shoulder.

"Nothing," Tai replied, shaking his head, his eyes closed.

"It's fine with me if you date Sora, if that was what you were trying to ask. It's up to her to date whoever she wants to, and I've known you and Agumon for a long time, so I know you won't do anything to hurt her. And I think her parents will be fine with it too," Biyomon consoled him.

"Do you even know if she likes me like _that_?" Tai asked the digimon on his shoulder.

"Maybe," Biyomon teased.

"What do you mean by that? It would really help if I know the girl that I'm chasing likes me or not… before I embarrass myself or something," Tai confessed. Biyomon smiled at the flustered teenager.

"I'll just tell you this. She broke up with Matt because she felt her heart was with someone else. I won't tell you who, but I think you can figure it out," Biyomon concluded.

Tai sighed. "I guess I'm not going to get anything out of you. Fine. I guess you would have told me if I didn't stand any chance anyways," Tai reasoned. "Well, don't mention any of this to Sora." Biyomon just laughed and flew back to Sora. '_Was that a yes?'_ Tai wondered as he walked back over to where Sora and Biyomon where. '_Whatever,'_ Tai sighed as he sat down on a patch of grass beside the redhead.

"So what did you need to talk about so desperately?" Sora finally asked, curiosity finally getting the best of her.

Tai just smiled in return. He placed an arm around her shoulders and said, "You do know that curiosity killed the cat, right?" as he watched Agumon walking back over to the group. Before the girl could reply, Tai stood up and joined Agumon, asking him how it went.

"That was pretty quick, Agumon. So what happened? Did Blackwargreymon know anything about what's going on?" Tai bombarded Agumon with questions.

"Well, he told me that it's probably a new evil in the digital world that's causing all these disturbances. He too is going to ask around and find out what's going on. We've decided to meet up again next week, same time, and same place. If he can't find us for some reason, then he'll go Gennai's and we can meet up with him there," Agumon told the group of three in front of him.

Taichi and Sora nodded. "Well, now we're planning on going to Gennai's house to look for my digivice. I seemed to have lost it and I most likely dropped it somewhere in the digital world. It might have turned up at Gennai's house so we've decided to go look there first," Tai told Agumon, to catch him up on the current events.

"Then let's go!" Agumon said as Biyomon digivolved into Birdramon and gave a mighty screech. Sora smiled at her friend and climbed onto one leg. Tai and Agumon got onto the other leg and then the massive bird took off into the skies towards Gennai's house. Once they were a couple of yards away from Gennai's house, Birdramon landed on the ground and devolved back into Biyomon. Then the group started walking towards the fountain of water that was placed on a patch of grass. Instead of a small hologram of Gennai beside the ocean side, the group of four found a small, yet magnificant fountain on a small piece of grass.

"I guess the old man decided to redecorate," Tai commented as he took a look at the fountain. "Interesting."

"How do we get in now?" Sora asked as she examined the water fountain. "Do you think this is sort of like a security system of sorts?" she asked as she found a small black button on the side of the fountain. Without thinking, she pressed it and waited for something to happen. Within the water, a transparent figure of Gennai appeared and started speaking.

"Who is it?" the small figurine asked.

"It's Tai and Sora," Sora replied.

"Oh, hello again. I hope you are completely recovered, Taichi," the small figure said as he turned to face Tai. Tai just blinked at him.

"Thanks; yes I'm fine now. Do you think you can let us in now?" he asked with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Of course," the figure said as he disappeared from view. The water fountain then suddenly split in two, straight through the middle and opened up to reveal the same steps that led down to Gennai's house. As the four of them made their way down, they could see fish and all kinds of water animals swim by them. A couple of them said 'hi' as they passed by and then saw a couple of Gomamon swim by.

"Gomamon?" Tai asked.

"Well, you can't expect that there's only one Gomamon in the whole digital world, Tai," Sora chided.

"Oh. Right," he laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. They finally arrived in front of Gennai's house and Agumon tried jumping for the doorbell a couple of times, but it was too high for him. Biyomon snickered at him in the background, covering her mouth to stiffle the laughs. Agumon just settled for knocking on the door then. Gennai came to answer the door and ushered them all in. As soon as they stepped inside, the stairway made of water disappeared as the two pieces of the water fountain came back together, hiding Gennai's house from view.

Sora and Tai were asked to take a seat at the dining table in another room and Gennai followed soon after.

"So how may I help you two?" Gennai asked.

"Was that a security system? The water fountain?" Sora asked.

"Yes it is. Especially since a new evil is running about… can't be too careful nowadays. I still have other computers and TV's to keep watch, but in this area, I thought a fountain would beautify the place and also be a nice security device," Gennai smiled.

"But isn't it weird? Coming upon a water fountain in the middle of nowhere?" Tai asked frowning.

"Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. It was snowing a couple days ago… anything can happen now," Gennai replied, a hint of mystery in his voice. "I used to be under the ocean remember? Well, since the land masses are shifting, it was a little too dangerous to go with the water now, so I decided to connect the water fountain to a small lake near by," Gennai explained. "So what are you guys here for?"

Tai knitted his eyebrows in wonderment and then remembered why he was here in the first place. "Oh, well, we came here because I seemed to have lost my digivice. Sora and I think that I must have lost it in the digital world because I remember having it when I came here last time, but after that, once I went back home, I couldn't find it," Tai explained.

"Hum… well, we can search this house if you would like, but I remember you having it with you when you left here. But feel free to look around," Gennai told the teenager. Tai nodded and thanked him.

All of a sudden, the whole place started shaking violently as items from various places in the house started falling. Tai, Sora, Agumon and Biyomon, all grabbed the table in front of them as if their life depended on it. Gennai just stood there, in that same spot throughout the whole thing. After a couple of minutes, things started to slow down and the shaking came to a halt.

"What's going on?" Agumon asked frantically.

"That my friends, was the shifting of lands in the digital world. I believe you all have experienced this before, when you were taken to a different part of the digital world when you were trying to find a computer the other time," Gennai said. "Ever since the evil has made it's presence in the digital world, the lands in the digital world have been shifting like this. Luckily my fountain comes wherever I go."

"What do you mean 'wherever I go'?" Biyomon asked.

"Well, if the lands shift, the lake and myself get taken to a new place, and my fountain comes with me too," Gennai explained.

"You've been living with this the whole time?" Tai asked, shocked. "When did this start happening?"

"It started about a month before you had your accident digidestined of Courage. And yes, I've been living with it. It's not that bad, compared to how it is like on the surface. I believe since we are under ground, it's about two to five times less violent than it is on top," Gennai averaged out. "But I think he's just toying with us right now. As if he's playing around with new puzzle pieces that he can move around as he feels."

"WHAT?" Tai yelled out, as he stood up, knocking his chair to the ground. Sora has to place a hand on his arm to make him calm down and take a seat again.

"Are you telling us that this evil digimon is that powerful? To change the landscape of the digital world itself?" Sora asked, her eyes wide with worry.

"Yes, and that might not be the only thing he's capable of," Gennai said.

The house started shaking again, a lot less violent compared to the previous one, but it was shaking nonetheless. "Does it always happen this often?" Tai gasped out as the house soon stopped quaking.

"Sometimes. On other days, it's as if nothing has ever happened," said Gennai as he picked a fallen vase off the floor and placed it back on its stand in the corner. "Luckily, not much in this house is capable of breaking easily."

Once things calmed down, Gennai then said, "I think you all should stay the night or at least for a couple of hours. You can take your time looking through the house and around the outside, but who knows when the next tremor will occur. I don't want you kids out wandering the digital world when "he" decides to change the digital world again. If you get trapped while the land piece starts shifting, I don't know where you might end up. You'll still be in the digital world, but I'm not sure where, and there are still some uncharted territories in this world," with a warning tone.

"Well, I have some things to finish up, so feel free to look around the house, and I expect you to stay for dinner and perhaps, the night, if you feel like it," Gennai said with a nod. Then he left the room, leaving the four of them alone to start their search.

"So… where do you want to start searching?" Agumon asked, kind of scared that the house might start shaking again as he stayed glued to his seat.

"If that first one was that bad, imagine how bad it was outside! I'm glad that we're inside," Taichi said as he got out of his seat and stretched his tired arm muscles. "I think I'll wait for about half an hour, to see if the tremors have really stopped, before we start searching the house. Who knows how big this house is. If the house starts shaking while we are looking and something happens to one of us that would not be good. So we'll start looking in a bit," Tai said with a note of finality.

"Ok then, we'll start looking in about half an hour or so. I guess I'll email my mom and let her know that I won't be back before dinner time," Sora said as she took her d-terminal out of her backpack that she brought along for Biyomon. Once her message was sent, Tai borrowed it and emailed Kari, letting her know what was going on and that he was at Gennai's so there was nothing to worry about.

Once that was done, Tai got up and said, "I'm going to go look around the living room and the kitchen to see if I might have dropped it around there."

"I'll come with you," Agumon said as he jumped out of his seat and raced after his friend.

"I guess we're going too Biyomon," Sora said as she and her friend followed the other two. As the two teenagers walked around the house together, looking through the kitchen area and the dining areas, Sora commented, "Hey you guys, remember the very first time we came to Gennai's house? When we were trying to get back to the digital world to fight Myotismon? Since then, this place has really changed."

"Yeah your right," Tai said, looking around. "I remember there used to be paper screen doors that you could slide back and forth, and now, most of the doors have knobs on them that you can pull or push to open. And he has two more floors added to the house," Tai mentioned as he remembered how the house looked from the outside. "I think it's going to take a while to search this house," Tai sighed.

"Don't worry Tai, we'll find your digivice!" Agumon assured his friend.

-----

The so-called 'evil digimon' was currently sitting on his chair in his… throne room, as he calls it. He picked up a small piece of metal from the ground and examined it. "So this thing gives those disgusting creatures the power to digivolve, correct?" the digimon asked to his subordinate in front of him. There were torches placed in specific places on the wall, illuminating the room in a soft yellow glow. Apparently this digimon didn't take too much to light bulbs and bright lights.

"Yes master," the tall, curvy figure said as it kneeled down to the ground.

"Ah, LadyDevimon, how nice of you to show," the master commented lightly as his left hand, the one that did not hold the digivice, stretched out and grabbed LadyDevimon by the throat in a moments notice.

"Master!" Ladydevimon choked out as she gasped for breath.

"How dare you disobey me? I asked for you to kill that insolent little brat with a mop on his head! What did you do? You didn't kill him, you let him live!" the master roared out as he squeezed her neck a little tighter.

"I'm sorry my lord!" the digimon pleaded as her face slowly turned blue from the lack of oxygen. She dare not disobey him because he could kill her in an instant as he was currently toying with her.

"My lord, your order," a digimon said as it shimmered into view.

"Ah, Devimon, thank you," the Lord said as he released Ladydevimon and took the steaming hot cup of coffee from Devimon who held it out for him. It seemed like the Lord had picked up some likings from watching the people in the real world, such as coffee.

"Thank you Devimon," Ladydevimon whispered as she rubbed her throat. Devimon just nodded and kneeled down in front of their master.

"Master, is there anything I can do for you?" Devimon asked, his head practically touching the ground.

"Yes Devimon. Can you tell me more about these little contraptions?" the master asked as he held the digivice in front of him.

"Ah, I remember those blasted things," Devimon said as he thought back to the time where Patamon digivolved and defeated him. Even though he was defeated, his current master brought his data back from where it was stored and gave him a new life. That is how much power this new evil has. "That digivice can give any digimon the ability to digivolve and become more powerful," Devimon said.

"So it can make me stronger?" the evil digimon asked.

"Yes, but you will need one of those digidestined, or another child who has the power to make you digivolve. They are the true source of the power. These digivices are just a medium to digivolve. You will need one of those digidestined to digivolve. But my lord, I believe you are more powerful than any of those digimon in their ultimate forms. Why would you need to digivolve?" Devimon asked.

"I want you and your little girlfriend over there, to find me one of those digidestined," the digimon spat out as he placed the digivice on a small table next to him. He extended his fingers out towards the ground and thin, very transparent threads came flying out of his fingertips and penetrated down into the ground. His eyes slowly grew dark, his irises disappearing until all you could see was pitch black when you looked at his eyes. He went down to the core of the digital world once again and brought up various images in front of him.

This evil digimon was able to slowly gain control of the core of the digital world by injecting small virus particles into the heart of this world and started taking over the digital world this way. He was able to manipulate the landmasses, as he was currently doing, and was able to survey anything that was going on in the digital world. He brought up a picture of Tai and Sora in Gennai's house. It showed both of them looking through a massive kitchen, looking for something in various cabinets and under other places.

"I think she will be fine," the dark lord said as he pointed to Sora. "Ladydevimon, I will ask you once again to kill this man. If you cannot do so, then I will kill you myself. I don't care about your little squabble with that bloody angel, you are to kill this boy!" the master roared out. Ladydevimon started quivering under his massive power. "I gave you extra powers just for this assignment. Do not fail me again."

"I understand," Ladydevimon gulped as she shimmered out of view.

"Devimon, I want you to retrieve this girl for me," the master ordered.

"Yes my lord," Devimon said, as he got ready to take his leave. Before he could do so, another voice pierced through the darkness.

"My lord, would it not be better to go for someone a little more innocent and easier to manipulate?" a figure said as it emerged from the darkness that covered certain portions of the walls. "Perhaps this boy?" the figure said as he pointed towards Cody on another screen.

"Malomyotismon," Devimon growled out. "It's a wonder how you can hide such a big body in the dark like that…" Devimon coughed under his breath.

"Malomyotismon, it's always a pleasure when you decide to show up. Perhaps you're right about this little bug. Hum… First get me the girl, if that doesn't work, then I shall use your idea, Malomyotismon," the evil digimon said as he turned to Devimon and nodded his head.

Devimon nodded back, bowed in respect and then disappeared from view.

"Malomyotismon, I would like you and your brother to watch over Ladydevimon and Devimon. I do not trust those two… and seeing as they are pathetic weaklings, they may not finish their jobs properly. See to it that their jobs are complete."

MaloMyotismon nodded and walked out of the throne room into another part of the cavern. "VenomMyotismon, we have a job to do. Get up and clean yourself off," MaloMyotismon growled out after seeing his brother's disgusting state. VenomMyotismon wiped the blood off his mouth and grinned at his brother.

"What's the job?" he asked.

Malomyotismon explained what they had to do as VenomMyotismon took some water from a bucket nearby and rinsed his mouth of his meal. Before they left their 'room' in the cavern, MaloMyotismon commented, "Do you always have to leave your food to rot on the floor? Clean it up will you? I don't like to see dead, half eaten digimon before I go to sleep and then see them again first thing in the morning."

"Fine fine, I'll clean it up when we get back," VenomMyotismon promised as he rolled his eyes at his brother's complaining. The two massive digimon shimmered out of the cavern, off to find the two love birds- Ladydevimon and Devimon.

-----

Back at Gennai's house, the two teenagers were frantically looking around the kitchen area and dining area for about half an hour before they gave up, realizing that Tai's digivice was not there. Panting, Tai said, "I guess it's not around here. We can probably look in the room I was in, next. Then we can go to the second and third floors."

"Sounds like a plan," Biyomon said as she flew over to a futon nearby.

"But first a break," Agumon panted out as he threw himself on the futon. Sora and Tai took a seat there too, waiting for Agumon and Biyomon to catch their breaths. Tai leaned back and rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

"You okay? Your eyes don't hurt again do they?" Sora asked, concern filling her voice. Tai shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said as he turned his head and opened his eyes to look at her. "Thanks though," he smiled. "I just didn't get much sleep last night," he said as his head fell onto Sora's shoulder and he closed his eyes once again.

Sora scooted over a little more so Tai wouldn't have to stretch his neck that far and then ran a hand through his hair. "You know, your hair is actually silky. I would have thought that it would be really rough with knots and all, seeing as you never brush your hair," Sora muttered.

"Hey! I do brush my hair! Hah. Actually mom's been pestering me about getting a hair cut before I go to college," Tai mentioned. "That feels nice," he said as he closed his eyes once again while Sora ran her hand through his hair a couple of times.

"Are you going to get a haircut?" Sora asked, thinking '_He probably won't, he's had this hairstyle ever since he was little. I doubt he would get it any shorter than this, maybe a trim at most.'_

"Definitely not," Tai said adamantly as he shook his head from side to side. Sora laughed.

For the next five to six hours, the four guests searched the house from top to bottom, but were unable to find anything that remotely resembled a digivice.

"Well kids, it's around dinner time. Would you like some dinner now?" Gennai called up the stairs. Four heads looked around the corner and nodded.

Once everyone was sitting around the dining table, Tai told Gennai about the search. "Well, it seems like I didn't drop my digivice around here. We've searched the whole place and couldn't find it. So that means it must have fallen somewhere out in the digital world…" Tai sighed.

"The digital world is a big place," Gennai nodded. "Well, I can send word out to my friends and let you know if they find anything," Gennai promised as he cleared the table of the plates and other dining utensils.

After dinner, Tai and Sora heard Gennai's doorbell ring a couple of times until it finally stopped. "Now who could that be?" Gennai muttered under his breath. "I don't think I have any visitors planned for today."

Gennai went to the door and Tai and Sora were able to hear a couple of whispers and then Gennai's footsteps as he walked back into the dining room. "Well, it seems we do have a guest tonight," Gennai announced as a small fur ball flew through the door and landed on the ground.

"Piximon!" Biyomon and Tai said at the same time as soon as they saw the pink fur ball with wings touch the ground.

"How are you?" The small digimon asked, looking particularly at Tai.

"I'm much better, thank you," Tai said. "We're fine."

"Good, because I've heard of what has happened to you Taichi. Particularly the changes that have been taking place," Piximon announced.

"Huh? How? I don't think I've told anyone else except for Sora and Matt, and the digimon," Tai said.

"Well, apparently if something interesting happens in the digital world, news travels fast, and other digimon have seen you," Piximon reminded him. Tai nodded.

"So I am here to offer you four some special training. Mainly for Taichi, to get used to his powers, but if you three want to come along, that is fine with me," Piximon told them.

"It sounds fine to me," Sora said with Biyomon and Agumon nodding their heads in approval.

"You guys are just going to assume that I'm going to do this training thing?" Tai asked with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Tai, Piximon is offering to train you and help you with your powers. I think this is the best offer yet unless you plan on training yourself," Sora explained. Tai looked at the ground then back up at Piximon, finally making up his mind.

"Fine, when do we leave?"

"If it is okay with Gennai, we shall leave tonight. I have heard from some digimon that I passed by tonight, that the evil digimon has sent some of his minions after you two and I think they are planning to attack tonight. Gennai, watch yourself," Piximon warned the old digimon. Gennai nodded.

"Then you four, take care of yourselves," Gennai ordered as they got up and got their supplies. Gennai gave them an extra pair of clothes and a little bit of food, which Sora placed in her backpack. Once she slid it on her back, they were ready to go.

"Look's like we won't be going back home tonight," Tai commented as they went up the flight of stairs that led back up to the surface. Once back on land, instead of under water, Piximon twirled his stick that was in his hand and a bubble surrounded the four of them along with Piximon.

"Off we go!" Piximon announced as the bubble took off into the air and flew towards the desert. After about a fifteen-minute ride, the bubble slowly landed on the cool desert ground.

"Pixie portal open!" Piximon said suddenly, as he waved his staff around in the air. The group walked in and took a look around.

"Looks like someone redecorated," Sora commented as she saw that they were currently walking on a beach with the ocean lapping at their feet. There was a jungle around 100 feet from where they were currently standing.

"Well, don't stand there all day, come along now," Piximon ushered. They followed the small pink ball up to the very long flight of stairs that led to his house.

"You still have these damn stairs?" Tai muttered as he started to climb. Biyomon took to the air immediately but was hit on the head by Piximon's staff.

"You'll have to take the stairs too Biyomon. No short cuts." Biyomon groaned.

"Let's get going then," Tai started. It took a good half an hour until they were finally at the top.

"I'm exhausted," Agumon commented as he swayed lightly on his feet.

"Good then, off to bed. You'll have a nice sleep since you're all tired," Piximon said as he led them to one of the millions of rooms around the coliseum. "Tomorrow we shall start your training Tai," Piximon told the brown haired boy as he stopped in front of an intricately decorated door that was carved with wood. "This will be your room during your stay here. The four of you," he mentioned as the door opened with a touch of his staff.

"Uh, the four of us?" Sora stammered out as she looked at the big room that lay in front of her.

"I'm not made of money you know," Piximon chastised. "This is a training ground first, and then a hotel second. I don't have time to make separate rooms with nicely decorated beds and dressers and everything like Gennai does, you know," Piximon glowered as he waved his staff once again. Four futons appeared on the floor, one next to another on one side of the room, and a dresser that spanned the length of the room on the other side. A big mirror covered the wall above the dresser and another door on the other side of the room led to a somewhat grand looking bathroom.

"Beds!" Agumon yelled out as he collapsed on the nearest one and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Tai decided to sleep next to his friend, Sora next to him and Biyomon on other end, not really wanting to be squished between two humans that were bigger than her. Piximon had also created a bird swing a little higher up if she felt like sleeping higher up. She thanked him and went to the swing and fell asleep with one leg under her and her face turned to her back, just like any other bird.

"Looks like it's just us then," Tai said. "Thanks Piximon." Tai nodded to Piximon and went into the room.

"Piximon, do you have a computer located in here? Just incase we need to reach home or go home for extra supplies or anything," Sora asked.

"Yes I do actually. I had one installed this past month or so." Waving his staff around again, the computer and a small table appeared in another corner of the room; the monitor screen was a pitch black as the monitor was turned off. "It has a digi port if that is what you're looking for. As soon as you turn it on, the program to bring up the digi port is right on the desktop," Piximon said before he flew off. "Good night. And remember, training starts in the morning!"

Sora entered the room and sighed as she placed her backpack in a corner, next to Biyomon's bed and closed the door behind her. Soft torchlights illuminated the room, two by the dresser and two by the bathroom entrance. Sora bent down and grabbed the pair of shorts that she had brought, out of the backpack.

"Looks like the digimon are fast asleep," Tai said softly as he walked out of the bathroom with his pants in his hand.

"Uhh…." Sora said as she took in his clothing attire.

"What? This is what I wear to bed! At least be happy I'm wearing clothes!" Tai said jokingly. Sora's eyes widened as her face flushed a light pink. "What? Would you like me to sleep naked or something?" Tai asked, chuckling at her pink face. "Well, I'd be happy to oblige seeing as it's only you and not Izzy or something," Tai joked as his hands went to the top of his boxers.

"Tai!" Sora yelled out as she smacked him with the pair of shorts in her hand as she stomped of towards the bathroom. Sora emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, placed her jeans next to her backpack and then laid down on her futon, next to Tai. She turned to her friend then asked, "You still awake?"

"Yeah."

She turned her body to the side so she could look at him clearly. "We'll have to go back home sometime tomorrow, preferably in the morning or something to get bathroom supplies and a change of clothes," she told him and he nodded in agreement.

"We can do that first thing in the morning if you like. We'll just tell Piximon that when he wakes us up," Tai said as he pulled the blanket that was placed at his feet, over his body. "Well, good night," he said as he lay back down on his back and closed his eyes.

"Night," Sora whispered as she too pulled her blanket over her and fell asleep.

-----

The next morning, the four that were fast asleep in a room in Piximon's house, or coliseum if you would like to call it, had a very rude wake up call. Piximon flew through the door and started yelling, "Wake up! It's a new day! Up, up!" Who knew the little creature had such a loud voice? Well, it definitely worked because Agumon and Biyomon were up in an instant.

"Who stole my pizza!" Agumon yelled out as he jumped to his feet, his eyes half closed with sleep.

Sora groaned as she opened her eyes, wondering why it was so loud this early in the morning. As she opened her eyes, a pink fur ball flew right into her face and started screaming 'wake up' at her. Well, that woke her up. "Fine! I'm up! Just stop screaming!" Sora yelled as she tried to sit up, her hands trying to wave away the annoying digimon flying in front of her face. She was only able to sit up partially before she fell back onto the futon because of a heavy weight around her midsection. "What the-" Sora started as she threw her sheets off her body, wondering why she couldn't get up. Then, all of a sudden, she was pulled by the waist into something warm.

"Five more minutes," Tai muttered as he snuggled up a little closer to the source of warmth next to him. Somehow in the middle of the night, Tai ended up on Sora's futon, his arm around her waist and her body spooned up against his. Sora blushed and tried to pry her best friends' arm off of her but that only made him hold her tighter.

Piximon was getting tired of waiting so he flew out of the room and then came back a minute later with a trumpet in his hand. Blowing it really loudly right next to the boy's ear definitely woke him up. Tai was up and on his feet in an instant, wondering what was going on.

"Is it a fire?" Tai asked sleepily.

"No, but it is your first day of training," Piximon said as he pushed Tai towards the bathroom.

"Huh? What training?" Tai asked, his brain still fogged with sleep.

"Just wash your face and be ready in five minutes!" Piximon yelled as he closed the door behind the confused boy.

"Wait, don't I need my clothes?" Tai asked from behind the door.

"I have provided you with a set of clothes next to the sink. Those clothes will help you move better," Piximon explained. Then Piximon turned to the other three in the room. "I would also like you three to be ready in five minutes too. If you and Biyomon would like to watch my training methods today and then decide if you like to be trained also, that's fine," Piximon told Sora. Sora nodded as she got a new pair of clothes that Gennai had provided for her, out of her backpack and waited for Tai to come out of the bathroom.

"What time is it?" Sora asked.

"Six a.m." Agumon almost fainted.

"That's way to early to be up!" Agumon complained. Piximon just ignored him.

"Oh Piximon, I was wondering if we could go back to the real world to get some bathroom supplies and everything," Sora asked the small digimon that was about to fly out the door.

"Everything has been provided for you," Piximon said as he flew out the door. Sora just guessed that he had provided some toothpaste, a brush and other bathroom supplies when he came in this morning.

As soon as Taichi came out of the bathroom, Sora went in and changed. Once she came out, she saw Tai lacing up his shoes and slipping on a pair of fingerless gloves.

"Interesting outfit," Sora commented as she took in his new attire. He was clad in a plain white shirt and very baggy kaki colored pants that looked one size too big for him. Other than that, his shoes and gloves, there was nothing else on him.

"What do you think these gloves are made out of?" Tai asked as he felt the glove material. "It looks like leather to me."

"Hum… you might be right," Sora said as she came over and touched the material. Piximon then chose that time to fly in and as if the four of them were ready. They nodded and Piximon led them out of the room. They went down a couple of levels and arrived at the base of the coliseum.

"Okay then. Tai, you will stand in the middle there," Piximon ordered as he pointed his staff towards the center of the big open area. "The rest of you will have to sit in the stands up there," Piximon said, pointing to some seats that were a couple of stories high.

"Why so far up?" Biyomon asked.

"I do not know what your friend is capable of yet and I do not want any of you to be caught up in the middle of something," Piximon warned. "And Agumon cannot help out in any of these trials. It is to test Tai's strength and if Agumon interferes, I will not be able to train your friend properly."

Agumon nodded. "But beware, no matter what happens, you cannot interfere. I shall be placing a barrier around you three to protect you. I will only stop a test if Tai is in life-threatening danger, but you three must make sure that you do not hinder with these tests," Piximon stressed as he closed the three in a bubble and it slowly floated up several stories into the air.

"We're so high up… oh, I hope Tai will be ok," Sora said as she sat down on the bench underneath her. The bubble expanded and contracted depending on the three's movements and allowed them some breathing space.

"Now let's get started," they heard Piximon say to Tai. "We'll start with a couple of exercises to get your body stretched out," Piximon told Tai as he asked the boy to run three laps around the edge of the sandy field. Tai sighed but complied. He ran three rounds around the field and had a light coating of sweat on him by the time he was done.

"Good. Now stretch your legs and arms first. Then your back and neck," the small digimon ordered. Tai stretched, following Piximon's commands and then stood back up onto his feet.

"Okay. I'm going to throw some attacks at you, I want you to dodge them the best you can." Tai nodded.

The small, pink fur ball took a deep breath and launched a series of attacks.

"Bit Bomb!" Piximon yelled as millions of bat like bombs flew at the brown haired teen. Tai ducked and rolled to the side, dodging the brunt of the attack. "You know you can use anything to help you, except for your digimon," Piximon told him as he launched another attack. "Bit Bomb!"

Another group of bombs flew at the boy. Tai tried swatting them away with his hands but only got his hands burnt as they blew up upon contact. "Shit," he muttered under his breath as he continued to dodge, jump and roll out of the way of the flying bombs. After about fifteen minutes of this, Piximon suddenly stopped his attacks.

"That's good. Very good. Better than I thought," Piximon congratulated. Tai, finally getting a break, sat down on the ground and tried to catch his breath.

"Is there a water fountain near by?" Tai asked as he lied down on the sand of the coliseum on his back, panting. Piximon flew out for a second and then returned with a bottle of water in his hand. Tai gratefully accepted it and gulped half the bottle down at once.

"We'll take a break now, and get some food in you. I want you back here within the next hour and half to resume your trials," Piximon instructed. He then signaled for Sora, Biyomon and Agumon to stand up and the bubble that took them to their seats, brought them back down to the sandy grounds.

"Tai!" Agumon rushed up to his partner and hugged his legs.

"Haha. I'm fine. Now let's get something to eat!" Tai said as he pumped his fist into the air. His hands that were once black and blue from the bombs were completely clean of bruises as his digimon side of him healed his cuts and bruises in a matter of minutes.

Piximon led the group down to the kitchens where a couple of digimon were cooking food for the group. They sat down in front of a table in the kitchen and waited for their food. During the next hour and half that they had, Tai just rested his body and gained back his energy for the next set of trails. Tai and Sora and their partners just made idle talk about what they were going to do after this and if Sora was planning on joining Piximon's training regime.

"It doesn't look too bad actually," Sora mused. "It would help keep me in shape and keep me fast on my feet." Biyomon nodded.

"I wonder if he could train us too," Agumon voiced out for Biyomon and himself. Before they could discuss the topic any further, Piximon returned again and asked them to be out waiting in the coliseum grounds in the next five minutes. Then, as soon as he had appeared, Piximon flew back out the kitchen doors.

"I guess that means we have to go back now," Tai groaned as he pulled himself up out of his seat and led the way back to the sandy grounds.

Once he was standing in the middle of the coliseum once again with Sora and Agumon on either side of him, Piximon decided to appear once again. "Alright. We will now resume your training. I hope you had enough to eat because you will definitely be using up all of the food you ate pretty quickly," Piximon told Tai with a smile. Tai gulped in response.

"I'll have to have you three back up on the stands again," Piximon told them once again as a bubble took them pretty high up in the stands. "You might have thought the bubble was kind of useless when I started the training, but you'll thank me now," Piximon whispered under his breath, but Tai caught it with his very sensitive ears. Turning to Tai, he then asked, "Are you ready boy?" Before Tai could even answer, Piximon started attacking him again. Once again, he had to dodge those small, annoying bombs and found it easier than the first time. Once Piximon stopped his attack, Tai asked him about it.

"How come I found it easier to dodge your attacks the second time around?" Tai asked as he was covered in a light sweat again. But this time, he wasn't panting and wasn't looking like he had the wind knocked out of him.

"Your body is quickly adapting to various situations. Your body and mind now know how to dodge my attacks after seeing it once. Impressive," Piximon commented.

"Okay. I'm bumping it up a level," Piximon said as he waved his staff around in the air like a cheerleading baton. All of a sudden, the wall around the coliseum arena disappeared and was replaced with hundreds of cages. Since the cages were embedded into the coliseum walls, the whole cage was not visible, just the front of it, and so Tai could not see what was in the cages. Darkness shrouded the creatures inside.

"Here's your next test," Piximon announced. He increased his voice a little more so Sora, Biyomon and Agumon could hear what he was saying too because this related to them too. "You all must be wondering why you haven't encountered any more of those possessed digimon like Elecmon when you were trying to get back home. Well, a couple of other digimon, including myself, have rounded these digimon up and have placed them in these cages."

"Are you saying my next test is to face those digimon?" Tai screamed out.

Piximon ignored Tai's outburst and continued explaining. "You will face off with one of these digimon. You can use any method of fighting except Agumon will not be there to help you, so you will be on your own. I will tell you this: these digimon are brainwashed/ raised by evil himself and do not possess any goodness to them. I have had a couple of digimon friends who have tried to talk to these dark digimon, but nothing good came out of it. They intend to kill once released, so be careful. You will have to kill them or injure them in such a way that they cannot kill you. If things get very rough, then I will come to the rescue, but not a moment sooner," Piximon told Tai.

"Remember, they are not the kind of digimon that will go away if you talk to them or if you hit them once. They are out for blood. If you cannot handle one of these digimon on your own, then you won't be able to face the heart of evil alongside your comrades. Now brace yourself," Piximon said as he flew to the far end of the arena.

"Now show me your true powers Taichi Yagami. Show me what you are capable of," Piximon whispered to himself as he watched the boy take a few deep breaths of air in and out. When he saw Tai was ready to go, Piximon shouted, "Gate 1 open!"

The cage door straight across from Tai, who was standing in the middle of the arena once again, started to open with a groan. Tai could see bright red eyes shining directly at him. He could hear Sora whispering, "Oh Tai, please be careful!" Flexing his hands, Tai waited for the digimon to make an appearance in the arena. It felt like forever, but in reality about half a minute passed by for the digimon to make its appearance.

The massive digimon walked into the sandy arena with a loud roar. A black Tyrannomon with red stripes came into view, its eyes and teeth shining brightly. DarkTyrannomon's head swiveled and looked straight at Tai, saliva dripping down the digimon's open mouth. The digimon was probably at least four times as tall and about five times as wide as Tai.

"Are you sure about this Piximon? This is a champion level digimon!" Tai yelled out at the pink digimon, but got no response. Tai took that as a yes. Sighing, the brown haired boy turned back to the massive digimon and examined the digimon. '_How the hell do I attack this thing? Can I even make a dent in it?'_ Tai thought as he got into a fighting position, one leg back and one leg front, bent at the knees.

Before Tai could even get ready or think of a plan, the digimon started attacking. "FIRE BLAST!" DarkTyrannomon roared out as a big ball of fire flew out of its mouth. Tai jumped to the side just in time to save his skin. Tyrannomon, seeing an opening, jumped at Tai and attacked again.

"Slash Claw!" DarkTyrannomon brought his large clawed arm down onto Tai slashing him across the chest, his shirt now sporting three wide cuts through the front. Tai yelled out in pain as he was thrown back from the force of the attack. His chest was bleeding, as the claw marks were really deep. He definitely felt the pain, but only for a few seconds as his body easily repaired those wounds. Tai growled and stood up again.

The digimon did not wait to attack again as it jumped up and landed right in front of Tai. It turned around and swung its tail around, hitting Tai right in the stomach and sent him flying against the wall of the coliseum. Unfortunately he landed in front of another cage and could hear a pair of teeth snapping viciously at him. The teen's eyes widened as he scampered away from the cages. The digimon let out another roar and let another Fire Blast at Tai. Tai's eyes widened as he found himself still on the ground and did not have enough time to move out of the way of the blast. He stuck his left hand out to protect himself as his right arm went over to protect his face.

Tai could feel the heat of the blast engulf his hand but as soon as the heat touched his hand, it disappeared. Looking up, Tai wondered if Piximon interfered in the battle and was ready to thank the small digimon. As he looked around, he spotted the tiny digimon in the corner still watching him. "Huh? What happened?" Tai asked himself. He then looked at his hand and could see a small ball of flames in the palm of his hand.

"Did I do that?" he asked dumbly. Then he finally realized what was in his hand. It was the Fire Blast from the digimon standing in front of him. Tai grinned and threw the ball back at the digimon with full force. It seemed like there was a little too much force in that throw because as the fireball flew towards the massive digimon, it started to grow in size until it was two times as big as the one that the digimon had aimed at Tai and the ball hit the digimon straight in the gut and went right through the other side of the digimon, leaving a gaping hole in the creature. DarkTyrannomon's eyes widened and then closed as he fell onto his back. His data slowly began to disintegrate, pieces of data flying everywhere. Then they started to collect where the body had previously been.

"What's happening?" Tai asked as Piximon flew over to the boy.

"It seems that since you did not have the intent to kill the creature, the data from the DarkTyrannomon is reforming back into an egg," Piximon explained as he pointed to the new digimon egg on the ground. He flew over and picked the digi egg off the ground and then announced, "Round Two!" as another gate started to open.

"So basically, if I have anything other than the intent to kill, towards these digimon, I can allow them to have a second life, in other words?" Tai asked as he waited for the second digimon to appear.

"It seems so," Piximon yelled back.

"But how do I kill them without having the intent to kill? Kill them by accident?" Tai muttered under his breath. "That will be hard to do…"

Out from the second cage came a massive bird. Once again, it was black and had red eyes. "Kiwimon… but this one is bigger than the ones that you usually find," Tai muttered under his breath. This Kiwimon that ran out of its cage was probably one and a half times bigger than a regular Kiwimon that one would find in the wild. As soon as it was free, it came running at Tai, launching its attack. "Pummel Peck!" the bird squawked as millions of little chibiKiwimon came flying out at Tai. Tai could only dodge the first few until they all overwhelmed him. Tai let out a scream as he swatted at the tiny birds that started pecking him to death.

Tai slowly found his way out from under the pile of pecking digimon and slowly crawled up the massive bird digimon without it noticing him. Once on the digimon's back, Tai went up to Kiwimon's head and suddenly gripped the digimon's beak with his hands. Pulling back, Tai violently twisted the digimon's neck around until he heard a snap and finally let the digimon fall to the ground, its eyes rolled back into its head.

As the digimon's data slowly disappeared and then reappeared in the form of an egg, Piximon flew over to Tai and congratulated him on his second win.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Piximon asked the brown haired boy.

"Well, if you take out the point where I have to kill the digimon or get killed, then I guess it's not _that_ bad… but still, to fight a digimon?" Tai asked.

"It's in your blood now," Piximon reminded him as the bubble with Sora, Agumon and Biyomon landed back on the ground next to Tai. "Well, today's trial runs are done. You can have the rest of the day off. You can return to your world if you want but I want your answer on whether you would like to continue this training."

"I guess I won't mind it for a couple of days," Tai said looking over to Sora and Agumon. Sora just shrugged at him.

"Then I'll give you another task tomorrow. Let me know if you still want to continue your training after that," Piximon said with a small glint in his eyes. Tai and Sora were left confused by this. "Well, like I said, the rest of the day is for you. We will resume training tomorrow morning once again. If you do go to your world, make sure you both are back here again before night falls," Piximon told them as he flew out of the coliseum.

"So what do you want to do now?" Tai asked as he turned to face Sora.

"I guess we can go back to the real world. I need to get some fresh clothes if I'm going to come back tonight," Sora said. Tai nodded.

"Alright then, that means we'll have to go back up to the room and use the computer there."

Once back at their room, Sora turned the computer monitor on and went to the corner of the room to pick up her backpack. She came back in front of the computer and placed her bag next to it. Then all of a sudden, Tai remembered he left some of his clothes in the bathroom.

"Hold on! I left my clothes in the bathroom and I could really get them washed," he announced as he ran into the bathroom. He came back with folded clothes and laid them down on top of Sora's bag.

"You ready to go now?" Sora asked.

"Yup! All ready!" Tai said with a grin as he casually wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders next to him.

"Yuck! Tai, you're all sweaty!" Sora yelped as she pushed the boy away from her, but that just made him come right back to her.

"Well you never complained about me hugging you when we were at soccer camp… I think I was drenched in sweat back then," Tai said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders once again.

"Tai!" Sora whined. "That was when I was like 10! I didn't know better and I was happy we won the game! Plus, I was covered in sweat too so it didn't really matter," she pointed out as she tried to push him away again. Tai just grinned at her in response and held on tight. "Tai, we're going to fall!" Sora screamed lightly as she lost her footing as she tried to push Tai away from her once again, but to no avail. Luckily, the beds were right behind them so they fell onto that, Sora on top of Tai, their noses less than an inch apart from one another.

Sora gulped, unsure of what to do in such a situation. Part of her wanted to get away from him as fast as possible and another part of her wanted to stay like this forever, or at least until something else interrupted them. Not sure what to do, she just stayed on top of him, waiting for him to make the first move.

Taichi could feel Sora's breath upon his lips as he looked straight into her eyes. He could see she was fighting with her inner self. '_Probably thinking if she should give into my manly charms or give into the 'I- just- broke- up- with- Matt- so- I- need- some- time' concept,' _Tai thought as he mentally laughed, but he didn't bother to move either.

Sora started to lean a little closer to Tai, his lips looking a little more inviting than she thought it would. His dark chocolate eyes were tugging at her very soul as she brought her bright red eyes up to meet his. Her lips were just about to brush his when there was a sudden bird-like squawk coming from the corner of the room. That definitely broke the little trance that Sora was in. She immediately rolled off of Taichi and looked for the source of the sound. She saw Biyomon slap Agumon with the back of her wing as she proceeded to yell at him for stepping on her tail feathers. The yellow critter was apologizing furiously, his arms above his head to protect himself from her onslaught. Sora took a deep breath and calmed her raging hormones and laughed at the sight of her digimon chasing Agumon around the room. She then dared to take a look at her best friend, who was finally sitting in an upright position and blushed at the thought of what was about to happen. Shaking her head, Sora got back up onto her feet and decided they should head back to the real world.

"We should get going," she muttered as she caught the attention of the other three in the room. Tai nodded and got to his feet, all thoughts of what was about to happen with Sora swiftly flying of his head. Their digimon came over and stood beside their partners as Sora fished through her pockets for her digivice. She then pointed her digivice at the computer.

Before they were taken into the computer, Sora asked, "Do you guys want to stay here until we get back? You can hang around with the digimon here and maybe talk to Piximon about training you two," she offered.

The digimon looked at each other and the nodded at their partners. "Sure! Then I'll see you guys in a few hours?" Agumon asked. Tai and Sora nodded and waved at their digimon right before they were sucked into the digiport. Once they came back to the real world, they found themselves in Tai's room once again. Tai crawled towards the door and opened it a crack, just enough to see if anyone was in the hallway.

All of a sudden, he found himself looking right at someone. The boy screamed and threw himself away from the door, wondering who that could be. He ended up backing up right onto Sora's lap as he heard someone laugh on the other side of the door. As the room door opened up, it revealed the small form of Kari standing next to a laughing Gatomon. Looks like he came face to face with Gatomon who smelled something fishy going on in Tai's room and came to investigate.

"Welcome back Tai, Sora," Kari greeted as she lifted an eyebrow after seeing them on the floor, one on top of another. Tai scrambled off his friend and offered her a hand as she took up his offer and stood up. "What's up with those clothes?" the brown haired girl asked as she took in her brother's choice of dressing wear. Then she turned to Sora and asked, "You let him take you out dressed like that? Tsk, tsk."

"We're not going out! I went to the digital world and ran into Piximon, who decided to train me," Tai told his sister. Sora turned a bright red as flashes from yesterday came back to her.

"Train?" Kari asked. Both of them decided they did not want to explain everything this very moment and kept quiet.

"What time is it?" Sora then asked as she looked out Tai's bedroom window. She found it to be completely dark outside, with the occasional street light lighting the sidewalk and road.

"It's close to 11 p.m. now. Remember time moves twice as slow here than it does in the digital world?" Kari reminded them.

"That's right… then that means we'll have to get back to the digital world in another five hours or so," Tai told Sora.

"Then I'll grab some stuff from home and let my mom and dad know what's up and come back here for the night," Sora told the Yagami siblings as she made her way to the front door.

"Sounds like a plan," Tai replied as he waved to Sora and she disappeared from view.

"So what's going on Tai?" Kari asked as she sat on Tai's bed, looking him straight in the eye.

"Um…" he started, as he took a seat on his computer chair. He decided to give her a quick run down of what was going on, but not to go too in depth of why he was recieving training from Piximon. "Well, we originally went to the digital world to look for my digivice, so we went to Gennai's place to see if I might have dropped it there. We searched his whole house and came up with nothing. We had dinner at his house, and then Piximon showed up wondering if we could like to be trained with him, just like when we went to the digital world the first time," Tai said. Then he remembered that Kari wasn't with them at that time. "Oh right, you weren't in the digital world then. But anyways, he made the rest of the digidestined clean the place up while he threw Agumon and I in a cave and asked us to find the way out," Tai grumbled.

"So, we went to Piximon's place and he's going to train the four of us for a while," Tai informed his sister. "I'm not sure how long it will be though."

"Do you think he could train the rest of us?" Kari asked.

"You know, I'm not sure about that. I could ask him when we go back to his place. He's planning on mainly teaching us to dodge attacks and be fast on our feet," Tai told his sister what he thought Piximon would teach him and Sora.

"Ok. Well I'm getting pretty tired," Kari said as she was interrupted by a big yawn. "I had a rough sleep this morning because of some racket in the kitchen," she said as she glared at her brother.

"What are you looking at me for?" Tai said as he tried to act innocent.

"Oh, and I heard from T.K., who heard from Matt that Sora's single now," she informed her brother.

"Heard about that already. And by the way, I'll probably be staying in the digital world for the next few days, so I might not be back home tomorrow night or the day after. I'll take my d-terminal and send you an email and let you know what's going on when I get there," Tai told his little sister. She just nodded in response and went to her room and climbed into bed, Gatomon following right after her.

Tai gathered a week's worth of clothes and his toothbrush, toothpaste, some soap, shaving cream and razor. He placed them in a duffle bag along with his d-terminal and placed it next to his computer. He walked out into the living room and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Sora to return. Suddenly getting up again, he decided it might be better to freshen up before going back to the digital world as he looked at his torn clothes. Tai went to his room, got a towel and went to the bathroom. He figured it would take a little longer for Sora to come back, and since the rest of his family was asleep now, it would be really easy to walk back to his room and then change in his room instead of the bathroom.

About ten minutes later, as Tai was stepping out of the bathtub, he heard footsteps approaching his apartment door with his overly sensitive hearing. '_Oh, I should get that before the doorbell wakes everyone in the house,_' Tai thought to himself as he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist, this time holding the knot in his hand and went to open the door. Tai opened the door even before Sora could knock on the door and saw her with her arm in the air, her fist ready to come in contact with the door in front of her.

"Oh," was the only thing Sora could say as she took in the state Tai was in. "Um…"

"Your starting to make it a habit of running into me while I'm in just a towel… is there something you want to tell me, Sora?" Tai teased as he leaned over, their foreheads almost touching. Sora just blinked back at him and then got angry.

"Taichi," she growled.

"Yes, yes, I know you love me," the brown haired boy grinned. Before she could say anything, Tai interrupted her and said, "Well, don't just stand there all day, and I'm getting kind of cold with the door open," he pointed out as he ushered her in. She walked in stiffly and bent down to remove her shoes, glaring at her friend the whole time. She went to his room and placed her duffle bag next to his and sat down on the couch. Tai quickly went into his room, changed, came back out and took a seat next to the redhead on the couch.

Then the two of them passed the time with a movie and then got ready to go back to the digital world once the movie was over.

"Well, let's head back," Taichi said as he stretched his body like a cat would. He got up off the couch, turned the TV off and then offered his hand towards Sora. She took it and stood up and followed Tai as he led them back to his room, their hands still linked together, unknowingly. Once in front of the computer, Sora let go of his hand to take out her digivice and Tai grabbed both their duffle bags.

"Ready?" she asked. Tai nodded and the digiport took them back to the digital world. They landed back in their room at Piximon's massive house/ coliseum and Tai placed their duffle bags next to the row of futons. Then the two of them walked out of the room and went down to the main floor where they found their digimon playing with a couple of other digimon they found near by.

"Hey guys," Tai greeted as he walked up to Agumon.

"Tai! Your back!" the small digimon yelled as he launched himself at Tai.

"Hi Biyomon," Sora said as she picked her digimon up and gave her a hug. "Who are your friends?"

"They're a couple digimon who are also getting training from Piximon, and they work off their fees by cleaning the place," Biyomon told her human friends.

"Fees?" Tai asked as he accidentally dropped Agumon. Piximon decided to show up at that moment and greeted them with a hello.

"Nice timing Piximon. We were just talking about you," Tai told him.

"And what about?"

"Fees," Tai demanded.

"Ah. Well you digidestined don't have fees, luckily. Well, I shouldn't say that, because your fees would be saving the digital world from this new evil," Piximon told them.

"Is that all?" Tai asked as grinned. "Then no problem!"

"Let's see you say that again after you get trained," Piximon said. "Come along now, if you want your dinner," he told them as he flew towards the kitchen without waiting to see if the digidestined were following him or not. Once in the kitchen, they saw a small and simple dinner for them. "Once you're done with this, it's off to bed with you two. You'll have a long day of training ahead of you," Piximon warned as he flew out the door once again.

Once dinner was done, the four of them said goodnight to the rest of the digimon in the kitchens and went to their room and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, they were woken up once again with Piximon shouting in their ears and Sora found herself once again in Tai's arms. She rolled her eyes and figured that sweet-talking him to release her wouldn't work, so she decided to pull him off of her, with the help of Agumon. Unfortunately, Tai had gotten a little stronger and even with Sora and Agumon together, they couldn't pry the brown haired boy off. Piximon once again flew in with a trumpet in hand and blew it, making Tai jump up in shock.

"Maybe I should start using this in the mornings from now on," Piximon said as he looked at the trumpet in his small hands. Sora nodded.

"Please do," she laughed as she caught sight of Tai falling asleep on his feet.

Piximon flew over to Tai and shouted in his ear, "I want you ready in five minutes!" and then flew out the door.

"Huh?" Tai said, finally snapping awake. "Oh right," he said after a few minutes, remembering he was back at Piximon's training grounds. Sighing, he went to the bathroom to wash his face and he found a new pair of training clothes by the sink. He freshened up and changed into his training clothes and walked out of the bathroom, allowing Sora to get ready. Sora came out after a couple of minutes and also had new training clothes on, except she had on kaki colored shorts and a white sleeveless shirt on. '_I guess that allows for more movement then,'_ Tai thought to himself as they and their digimon made their way down to the first floor.

Piximon came in and instructed them to run three laps around the stadium. Tai, since this was the second time he did this, was okay, but Sora had sweat pouring off of her as she came panting back to where Tai and Piximon were waiting.

"We'll take a five minute break and then resume again," Piximon said after seeing Sora's state. "I guess your stamina has increased, probably around five to ten fold because you have digimon blood in you." Tai nodded.

After their five-minute break, Piximon then said, "Ok, now we'll start with some easy drills and then move onto a couple of dodging techniques." He worked mainly with Sora, but Tai was there too, for the next hour or so on dodging and running. After that, they had an hour for breakfast and resting. When the came back out onto the field, Piximon announced, "Here's where the real training starts," with a grin.

"I would like you three back on the stands. I think that should be enough for today, Sora. I want your muscles to get used to these exercises slowly," Piximon explained as a bubble closed around the two digimon and Sora and took them back up to their seats in the stands. "Now let's get started," the small digimon said to Tai.

"Cage three, open!" Piximon boomed out as he waved his staff in the air.

As the cage slowly opened, red eyes glowed from the darkness, piercing into Tai. As soon as the cage door was open wide enough, a massive bird flew out of the cage and into the air. Once again, it was black but had gold and green wings and red eyes. "Parrotmon," Tai said. "Great, this one is even bigger than the last one, and it can fly," Tai sighed.

As soon as it was free, the gigantic bird flew into the air and launched attack after attack. "Sonic Destroyer!" the bird squawked out. Electricity flew out from the bird's feathers on his head and Tai, on the ground, was just like a sitting duck.

"Yikes!" Tai screamed as he ran around the field like a headless chicken. He dodged the first few attacks, but since he had no way into the air to fly away from the attacks, he ended up getting hit by the last few, one after another.

The brown haired boy screamed in pain as his whole body was shocked with hundreds of volts of electricity. No ordinary human would be able to survive such an attack. Unfortunately, the bird did not give him a break to recover as it immediately swooped down at attacked and slashed down on him with its talons. Talon after talon dug into the boy's skin as blood oozed out of the freshly made cuts. As soon as the fresh air and sweat touched the wounds, Tai felt a painful stinging sensation. His shirt was now hanging off of him in pieces, his pants ripped in various places. If he was lucky, there would still be some clothes on him after this battle is over.

Parrotmon let out a loud squawk as it flew back into the air and attacked with electricity again. This hurt more than it did the first time unfortunately, because now Tai had millions of deep cuts all over his body. As Tai simmered under the electricity, the big bird flew down and grabbed Tai with one of its claws. It flew into the air and then swooped down once again, letting go of Tai in such a way that he came crashing down onto the ground with a sickening thud.

Sora, looking down on the battle, couldn't watch anymore. This was murder and Piximon called this training. Tai was getting beaten down there and Piximon just watched him. Blood was oozing out from Tai's back, his clothes charred and black, his right arm dislocated because of the bird's violent attacks. She could hear the boy screaming over and over again in pain and couldn't stand it anymore. "TAI!" she yelled out, a tear slipping down her face.

Tai forced himself to roll over onto his back and let out a hiss as the sand underneath him came in contact with more of his deeper wounds. Luckily the bird was giving him a little bit of space now as it circled up ahead of him and Tai's wounds were slowly being repaired.

Tai's eyes widened as he saw the bird's talons came down upon him once again. Just as the bird's talons came crashing down onto Tai's body, Tai lifted his left arm up and stopped the digimon from going any further. His arm was slowly giving in because of the weight of the bird, so before he could get crushed under the digimon's feet, Tai rolled out of the way and got back up to his feet, panting.

Tai gulped and found he couldn't move his right arm. '_Great… this is going to hurt,'_ he thought as he gripped his right arm with his left hand and pulled down as hard as he could. The brown haired boy gave a mighty scream as his arm fell back in place and he hunched over, his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. He slowly felt his cuts and bruises slowly healing, the pain fading away. In a minute, he was back on his feet, as if nothing happened to him.

"So how do I bring this bird down now?" Tai asked himself. Tai turned to where Piximon was and ran over to the small digimon. "Piximon, I can't do this! Parrotmon has wings and I don't! This is suicide! The other two digimon that I fought were ground digimon."

"What about your digimon side?" Piximon asked.

"I still don't have full control over my other side. Stuff just happens," Tai said as he rolled out of the way as the massive digimon came swooping down again. "And on top of that, I don't have much of an incentive to actually hurt that digimon because I can heal myself… the pain is just there momentarily, but I can heal my wounds, so it's not much of a problem… unless it's a life or death situation," Tai mentioned, as he thought about what was going on. The fact is that since Tai has such a fast recovery rate, there would not be much of an incentive for him to fight unless he was in a very tight spot like with that DarkTyrannomon.

"Hum… so it's an incentive that you need, correct?" Piximon asked without waiting for Tai's response. "Then an incentive you shall get," he said suddenly as he waved his wand in the air. All of a sudden, Sora found herself floating down to the coliseum grounds.

"What's going on?" Sora asked. Tai turned round suddenly and found that Sora was now standing on the sandy grounds along with him.

"Piximon, what are you trying to do!" Tai yelled out as he ran towards Sora.

"This is your incentive," Piximon said quietly. "Now show me what you are capable of. Show me your true power if you want me to train you properly."

As soon as the brown haired boy took off towards Sora, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Parrotmon had also seen the girl and had decided to make her its new target.

"SORA! RUN!" Tai screamed on the top of his lungs as he willed his body to go faster and faster. Unfortunately Parrotmon reached the girl before the brown haired boy could and slashed down upon her with its talons. Sora screamed as the bird's talons slashed down her shirt and arms. She was thrown backwards and onto the ground. Parrotmon continued to pursue the girl, Tai continuing to race after the massive bird.

Sora could feel the blood drip off her arms and legs and briefly wondered if this was how Tai felt when the Monochromon were attacking him, but did not have much time to contemplate because Parrotmon was on top of her once again, slashing at her violently. She was surprised that her clothes had not completely ripped off yet at the rate they were being torn. The redhead suddenly felt very light headed, '_probably from the loss of blood,'_ she thought as she slipped back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Somewhere very far away Sora heard a feral roar as she slowly slipped into an unconscious state.

-----

A/N: Well, looks like I managed to get this chapter out a week earlier than planned! But unfortunately, i wont be able to update again until the end of May. I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be up before the end of May, but it will be posted towards the last week of May or so because I have final exams coming up in a couple of weeks. Well, i hope you've enjoyed this extra long chapter. I was planning on making it longer, but I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, and thought it was a good place to stop.

Well let me know what you think!

Want more? Let me know in a review and you'll be seeing more very soon!


	12. Their Little Secret

**Chapter XII: Their Little Secret**

Sora kept a keen eye on her friend as she watched him dodge and jump out of the way of the massive bird's attack. She could easily see that Taichi was becoming slower and slower as the minutes crept on by. '_Oh Tai.'_ She watched him run over to Piximon, yelling at the pink fur ball as he dodged another one of Parrotmon's attacks. She strained herself to hear what they were talking about, but couldn't make out a thing.

Suddenly, Sora found herself lifted off the bench she was sitting on, as the bubble around her and the two digimon broke into two, one of the bubbles wrapping around her body. "What's going on?" Sora managed to stutter out as she looked back down at Piximon, who was waving his staff in the air wildly. The redhead soon found herself coming closer and closer to the ground with every passing second and her fear started to build.

She turned her head around to glance at the two digimon behind her and saw Biyomon trying to flap her wings and fly down to Sora but the bubble around them prevented that. Suddenly, the girl found hard ground under her legs as the bubble vanished around her body with a small '_pop'_.

"What's going on?" she asked again as she got onto her now shaking feet.

Red eyes found brown ones as Sora caught sight of Tai running towards her. She heard him yell out to Piximon as he kept his eyes on his friend.

"Piximon, what **are** you trying to do?" her friend asked with an underlying tone of malice in his voice.

Since Piximon was a little closer to Sora than Tai, she could hear the small digimon mutter, "This is your incentive, now show me what you are capable of. Show me your true power if you want me to train you properly."

'_So that's what it's about…'_ Before she could think any further about what Piximon had done, she saw Parrotmon flying above Tai, racing towards her with incredible speed. "Oh shit," Sora heard herself mutter as she willed her legs to move. '_Come on! Move! Do anything!'_ Sora thought desperately as she was frozen in place, her heart thumping loudly in her ears.

"**SORA RUN!**" she heard Tai scream, but her eyes were fixed on the bird approaching her.

Her red eyes widened as she felt sharp claws ripping through her shoulder. She let out a short scream as her right hand immediately went to clutch her left shoulder as she fell onto her knees. Suddenly, she felt the bird on top of her once more, attacking her from the back this time, its talons digging into her soft skin. Sora thrust her chest forward as a scream ripped out of her.

Parrotmon took flight once more, its wings leaving a strong wave of wind in its wake. It came back down upon the red headed girl once more as its talons scratched against her small body that was now sprawled upon the coliseum floor. Sora tried to bite back a scream as the talons came down upon her body once again. She could feel the blood from her back and shoulder sliding down her body and faintly wondered if this was how Taichi felt when the Monochromon was chasing him.

She suddenly felt blood collecting in her mouth and realized that she had bitten her tongue harder than expected. Sora's red eyes scanned the grounds for her savior and her eyes landed on Tai who was currently running in their direction. Her dull eyes were slowly going out of focus and she realized she wouldn't stay conscious for very long as Tai's body started getting blurry. She could hear scream after scream from a distance and wondered who it could be, and then realized that it was coming from her own throat.

A few minutes later, Sora felt a wave of fatigue sweep over her as she closed her eyes and let her throat take a rest from screaming. She heard a feral roar coming from a distance as she slowly slipped into the darkness.

'_Taichi.'_

------

The brown haired boy saw Sora's body tattered and bruised, laying on the ground in front of him and couldn't help but think that he might kill Piximon after this as well. Something primal started to yell from inside him as he ran towards the fallen girl.

'_Sora,'_ Tai thought with desperation as he jumped to cover her body with his own. From the corner of his eye, he could see Piximon flying over to where he was as Tai landed with a soft grunt on top of Sora's unconscious body. He suddenly felt Parrotmon's talons digging into his skin as he grinded his teeth together. He pushed the bird off of him with one hand as his other hand was wrapped protectively over the redhead's body.

Parrotmon took to the skies once again and Tai managed to get onto his feet again. "Watch over her and heal her," Tai growled out to the small digimon who was currently pulling Sora over to the far end of the stadium. Piximon nodded and Tai once again focused on the digimon in front of him. Tai could feel his hatred towards the digimon growing as his vision went red.

'_**Kill**!'_ was the only thought going through the brown haired teen's head at that moment as he felt his nails growing longer and a sharp pain shooting through his back and shoulder blades. Tai found himself suddenly embracing his digimon side with all that he had. '_Yes! Give me more power!'_ he thought has his red eyes narrowed down onto his target.

Tai let out a low growl and hunched over as pain shot out from his shoulder blades and two bright white wings unfolded out from his back. Tai then straightened out again as falling white feathers surrounded him. His nails grew into sharp claws and he felt two of his teeth lengthening in size. The brown haired boy let out a sharp yell as he felt the need to pull his teeth out of his mouth... that, or bite into something to ease the pain. Once the pain resided, he felt around with his claws and found himself sporting two very long canine teeth on either side of his mouth.

His hearing increased as well, he could suddenly hear his heart as well as the digimon's heart pounding in his ears. He tried to get rid of the sounds, but found that he could not. His sense of smell also increased as the scent of blood attacked his senses. Tai's red eyes widened as his claws tried to cover his nose. Unfortunately, Parrotmon decided that this was the best time to attack and let out a massive electrical attack towards Tai.

Tai, still in the middle of his transformation, could only stick one hand out in front of him, while his other hand was still covering his nose to prevent the smell of blood from entering. Just like a lightening rod, Tai felt the sharp bolts coming towards his hand as his left hand absorbed the attack. He could feel the electricity spark and swirl around his left arm as he brought his hand down to his side. A small ball of electricity had now formed in the palm of his left hand and he waited until his body stopped aching so he could attack.

Suddenly Tai let out a blood- curling scream as he clenched his teeth together, his hands curling into fists by his side as he felt his body lengthen in size. It felt as if he was being ripped apart from the inside as well as stretched on the outside. Tai slowly felt himself swaying between the line of consciousness and unconsciousness as the pain slowly became unbearable. But as soon as it came, it disappeared and Tai took in a couple of deep breaths as he was starved for air.

Tai then opened his eyes and looked around. He found himself much higher off the ground as his legs and torso lengthened and his arms were also longer than he started out with. '_How tall am I now?'_ Tai asked himself as he found he had a better view of the digimon in front of him. He could easily see the top of Parrotmon's head without having to stretch his neck too far back. '_I must be around seven… close to eight feet tall,'_ Tai gasped. As soon as his breathing and heart rate came down, the various scents and noises attacked his senses again.

Tai let out a moan as he fell to his knees, his claws covering his sensitive ears. He took in a deep breath through his nose and immediately regretted it as a bunch of smells attacked his now very sensitive nose. His right hand immediately came up to cover his nose.

'_Wait.' _Tai frowned and sniffed again, a soft metallic smell coming in contact with his nose, enticing him. He sniffed again, as he dropped his hand down to the ground again, his head turned in the direction of Sora and Piximon. His eyes widened as he realized that appealing smell was the smell of blood… _Sora's blood_ to be more accurate. Gradually, the events that happened before his transformation came rushing back into his head as he felt a loud growl coming from the back of his throat. He stood up, shook his head and glared at the bird in front of him. He flexed his claws _once_… _twice_… and then took off into the air as the sound of his wings churning the air around him pounded loudly in his ears. He flew straight towards Parrotmon, Parrotmon's electricity from the previous attack still wrapped gently around Tai's left arm.

The electricity crackled and hissed as it gently caressed Tai's arm, allowing it to be collected into the boy's hand, as he got ready to release the attack back at the bird that sent it to him. "Here's an early birthday present Parrotmon!" Tai yelled out, his voice a little deeper than normal because of his transformations, as he sent the electric attack back at the unsuspecting digimon. A few strands of light brown hair whipped his face and he used a finger to push them to the side, his eyes glued on the digimon in front of him. Tai was gently floating in the air now, a few feet away from the digimon who was now plummeting towards the ground. The electric attack did more damage than Tai thought as both of the bird's wings were fried, charred and cut in various places. Frankly, it looked as if Tai just made himself a dinner that unfortunately was still alive.

Letting a smirk cross his face, Tai flapped his wings once more and flew towards Parrotmon, increasing his speed with every passing second. He suddenly came to a halt in front of the massive bird that was trying to fly once again, but found that his wings did not work anymore. Squawking, the bird tried jumping, but could not lift himself off the ground. Tai floated in front of the now very scared bird, his arms crossed in front of his broad chest, chuckling. All of a sudden, Tai saw words flashing in his head and a small itch starting to form in his right hand. He looked at his twitching hand as he held it out in front of him, words suddenly coming to him. '_Iron Claw.'_

Grinning as his eyes took on an evil glint, Tai pulled his legs together, his body straightening out, and started to dive towards the bird that was running along the coliseum grounds. '_Haha. Looks like a headless chicken running around,'_ Tai chuckled as he willed himself to go faster and faster. He suddenly realized he was enjoying this as he chased the bird, slowly closing the gap between the digimon and himself.

Once he was in striking distance, Tai took in a deep breath and yelled out **"IRON CLAW**," as he felt a tingling sensation running up and down his right arm. His already long nails grew a couple more inches and coated themselves in a slivery sheen as he brought his hand down upon the bird's back. Parrotmon dodged just in time to avoid getting killed, but unfortunately it left him in great pain. Tai landed in front of the bird, his feet coming in contact with the dirt ground as he surveyed the damage. Parrotmon was now wingless as both his wings were cut clean off the bird's back, laying a few yards away from the running bird. Tai could smell the bird's fear rolling off of him in great waves and Tai's eyes narrowed as he grinned, relishing the smell.

Tai felt a warm substance rolling off his cheek and onto the ground. Lifting up a clawed hand, he swiped the substance off his face and looked at it. '_Blood.'_ Sniffing at it, he realized it was not his, but the bird's. Growling, he wiped his hand on his short kaki pants and chased the bird by foot. Made it more appealing that way, giving him a thrill. "Run little birdie, as fast as you can," Tai cackled as he felt his speed increase with every step that he took. His wings were folded flat on his back as he chased the bird. He started out a little wobbly on his feet as he took off running, but he adjusted and found himself coving a lot of ground in a very short period of time as he easily closed in on the bird. His red eyes widened and a wide smirk took over his face as he released another iron claw upon the frightened bird. His claws dug deep into the bird's flesh, green feathers flying everywhere as blood spilled from the squawking digimon.

"Is the poor digimon in _pain_?" Tai asked out as sweet as possible, his claw still lodged in the digimon's back. **"Well, imagine how Sora felt!"** Taichi yelled out as he dug his claws deeper into the digimon, a sense of satisfaction rushing through his veins as the bird let out a high pitched squawk in pain. Letting out a raged yell, Tai pulled out and thrust his fist back into the digimon's back and pulled down, clawing through the digimon's back. He felt his hand go through the digimon as his long; metallic covered nails ripping through the digimon's body. He continued tearing through until his hand appeared from the other end of the digimon. Pulling his arm back, he saw a long hole through the digimon, starting from near it's head, all the way down to it's tail as it fell to the ground, it's lifeless eyes staring at the stadium wall. The digimon slowly started to disappear into digital data as Tai 'hmphed' and licked his chapped lips, his tongue coming into contact with his fangs. He found himself grinning as he walked towards Piximon and a now awake Sora.

Tai stopped walking for a moment when he felt the red liquid still rolling down his right arm. Grimacing, Tai pulled off his white shirt with his left hand and wiped his right arm of the blood, the shirt soaking it all in. Lifting the red shirt with the nails of his first finger and thumb off of his now clean arm, he dropped it onto the ground and continued his trek towards the digimon and his friend. He stopped as he came within a couple of feet of Sora and had to bend his neck down to look at the redhead. "Are you okay now?" Tai asked, his eyes filled with concern and other hidden emotions as he stared at the girl in front of him.

"Um…" Sora stuttered as she nodded her head and looked towards the ground, trying to avoid his eyes.

"Sora?" Tai asked, his voice lowered, making it come out more as a growl than a question. He frowned and sniffed the air. His eyes widened as a weird smell touched his nose. '_She's afraid of me.' _Gulping, Tai took a couple of steps away from the girl on the floor and turned his attention towards Piximon, silently asking '_what's next?_' as he tried to forget the scared look on Sora's face.

Piximon flew over to Taichi and looked him over once nodded once in a while. "Okay. This is your true digimon form. This is what I will be training with for the next month, understood?" Piximon said as he flew over to stare into Tai's face. Tai nodded in response. He felt his heart tug at him as he took a quick glance towards Sora's crestfallen face and then looked back at Piximon. "You will fight once more and then we shall call it a day." Piximon twirled his staff once more and the sound of a cage rattling echoed in Tai's ears. Tai took one last glance towards Sora and then walked to the middle of the field, waiting for his next opponent.

-----

Sora slowly felt the darkness slipping away from her grasp as the world came back into view. She tried to move her body and was immediately hit with a sharp pain shooting from her head all the way down to her lower back.

"Take it easy for a little while and do not try to move," she heard someone say. Sora let out a moan and slowly felt the pain receding as a magical touch healed her. After a few minutes, she was almost back to normal and felt herself being rolled onto her back. Her eyes suddenly opened, her red eyes taking in the sights around her.

"Piximon?" she croaked out as she pulled herself into a sitting position with Piximon's help. She rested her back against the wall and took in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry about what I had to put you through, but this was the only way to bring out Taichi's true powers, that it was. I knew I could heal whatever wounds you might have had, so I did not worry much. But for you to feel that pain, I am sorry," Piximon apologized as he settled on the ground as his eyes fell towards the brown floor.

Sora gave a small smile and picked up the digimon in front of her and looked him straight in the eye. "That's okay. You did what you had to. Though I might not approve of it, I'm fine now so that's all that matters," she replied as she pulled the digimon towards her chest.

"_Gak_! Let me go!" Piximon yelled out as he was suddenly crushed against Sora's chest in a brief hug. Chuckling, Sora set him back onto the ground and gave a slight yelp as she head a blood curling scream coming from where Tai was located.

"Taichi?" she whispered as her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"Watch and see how he embraces his digimon side," Piximon said with a nod as he took a seat beside the redhead.

Sora's red eyes trailed over Taichi, her eyes taking in the white wings, sharp claws, and his now lengthening body. She could hear a sickening crunching and grinding as his limbs slowly lengthened. She covered her ears and closed her eyes as he gave another loud, pain filled scream. She felt herself letting out a soft whimper as if she could feel a small portion of his pain as well. She saw her friend fall to the ground and suddenly felt the need to rush over to his side and help him, but restrained herself. She saw him tilting his head up, sniffing the air and then watched as he turned his bright red gaze onto herself and Piximon. His red eyes pierced hers, going straight to her soul. She let out an involuntary shudder as she felt herself locked within his gaze, being drawn in. As soon as that feeling appeared, it went away as Tai pulled away and turned his head back to the digimon in front of him.

Sora's eyes followed the brown haired teen as he took off into the sky, going after Parrotmon. "Here's an early birthday present!" she heard Tai yell out before he unleashed an electric attack onto the digimon in front of him. Red eyes widened as she watched the electricity wrap around the bird, shocking it. Parrotmon was frantically trying to move its wings as it crashed into the ground with a _THUMP_. The bird was squawking like there was no tomorrow and Sora had to cover her ears from the horrible noises that it made as it started to fry from the heat. Once the bird stopped making such disturbing sounds, Sora lifted her head once again and saw Tai flying towards the jumping bird. Parrotmon saw its enemy approach it and it took off running as fast as it could on its two legs.

Tai let out a loud yell as he closed in on the running bird and yelled, **"IRON CLAW!" **The red headed girl watched as her best friend's right hand gave off an eerie glow and started to lengthen, giving off a weird glint as light shined down on his hand. Sora let out a soft gasp as she watched Tai rip the bird's wings off of it's back and then land on the ground in front of the bird, his face taking on a look of satisfaction. She was surprised as Parrotmon continued to run away from Tai, gulping as she watched her friend take off after the bird. As he broke out into a run, he almost tripped over his two feet as he got used to his new height. Sora felt laughter bubbling up as she let out a soft giggle. It soon disappeared as she saw Tai gaining speed as he chased the digimon on foot.

Sora kept her eyes on Tai; her heart beat speeding up as she watched him. A slight bit of excitement flooded through her as she watched her friend in action. His red eyes widened and a wide smirk took over his face as he released another Iron Claw upon the frightened bird. His claws dug deep into the bird's flesh, green feathers flying everywhere as blood spilled from the squawking digimon.

"Is the poor digimon in _pain_?" Sora heard Tai ask, his claw still lodged in the digimon's back. **"Well, imagine how Sora felt!"** she heard him yell out as his eyes widened in enthusiasm, his claws digging deeper into the digimon as the bird let out a high pitched squawk in pain. Sora's eyes widened as Tai pulled out and thrust his fist back into the digimon's back and pulled down, clawing through the digimon's back. He continued tearing through the digimon until his hand appeared from the other end. Sora's stomach started to flip and she felt like throwing up. Blood now covered Tai, his right arm dripping with copious amounts of blood, his eyes widened, his lips pulled into a satisfied grin. Tai's white wings were stained in blood as small dots of red appeared on the pearly white wings. She heard him give a loud 'hmph' as he slowly licked his new fangs.

Sora watched as Tai turned his sight onto herself and Piximon, his red eyes digging into hers as he grinned at her. Her heart told her not to be afraid but her mind told her otherwise as she suddenly felt the need to run in the other direction. She knew that Tai wouldn't hurt her or Piximon, but with that kind of look on his face, with his red eyes and long claws, it frightened her a bit. She saw him suddenly stop as he pulled off his shirt, wiped his arm with it and then dropped it to the ground.

The auburn haired girl suddenly felt the heat rise to her face as she took in Tai's new appearance, her eyes trailing over his broad shoulders, over his chest, to his flattened stomach, where she could see a hint of a six- pack, down to the top of his pants. She gulped and then looked back at Tai's face and saw his glinting eyes. He was finally a couple of feet in front of her and she glanced at his wings, which were covered in blood. She gulped, trying to fight down a sense of nausea. She focused her attention back onto Tai who was asking her something.

"Are you okay now?" she heard him ask her as she dared to glance into his eyes. She saw them filled with concern and something else… she couldn't place her finger on it. His newly changed voice had her heart beating double time as it caressed her, leaving her feeling confused over the new emotions that rose up. She heard herself stammering out a reply as she averted her eyes and tried not to look him straight in the eye. Her eyes caught onto the blood soaked shirt and felt her nausea coming back as she took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. She kept her eyes trailed on the ground in front of her and heard Tai taking a couple of steps away from her as he went to talk to Piximon.

She glanced up once again as she heard a rattling from the other side of the coliseum and watched Tai out of the corner of her eye. She could see the tight muscles of his back rippling under his golden brown skin as he flexed his arms and walked towards the center of the stadium grounds. '_Taichi…'_ She felt her heart fluttering in her chest once again as she took the time to run her eyes over his body once again. Her breath caught in her throat as she finally saw whom Taichi was up against, her eyes widening in fear for him.

-----

Tai felt a heated gaze upon his back as he waited for the digimon to appear in front of him. He did not dare to look back around at Sora, as he did not want to see the look or the smell of fear around her ever again. But he slowly wondered about that when he started smelling a sort of lusty smell mixed in with a bare hint of arousal in the air. Sniffing the air once more, he was about to turn his eyes towards the girl behind him but stopped as he caught sight of his opponent.

A monstrously large Gigadramon appeared in front of the teenager, as it snapped its large teeth at Taichi. This one, unlike the one they had come across when they were children, was completely black, his metal armor giving off an eerie glow under the light. It floated in the air as the cannon in its left hand started glowing. **"GENOCIDE GEAR!" **the digimon roared out as it let out a ton of missiles into the air all headed for Tai.

Tai's eyes widened as he saw the onslaught of missiles heading his way. He dodged a handful of them as he ran to the side and cringed as he felt one of them brushing past the tips of his wings. Tai took off into the air, as the missiles were hot on his trail. '_I have to get these blasted things off of my back!'_ Tai thought as he let out a low growl of frustration. Catching sight of the Gigadramon in front of him, Tai took off towards the unsuspecting digimon, circling around him a few times as he slowed down, allowing the heat missiles to catch up with him. He quietly floated up to the big digimon and when the missiles were close enough, Tai took off, straight up into the air as the missiles frantically tried to change direction. Unfortunately they couldn't and Gigadramon was pelted in the back with a lot of missiles, that blew up on impact. The digimon groaned under the heat, shaking off his own attack as he glared up at Taichi.

"Guilty Claw!" the digimon roared out as he raced towards Taichi. Unfortunately, Tai tried to fly out of reach but couldn't make it in time. He felt the claws of the digimon cutting through his left wing as Tai found himself kissing the ground suddenly. Letting out a moan, he rolled onto his back and tried to look at his broken wing. He touched it with his right hand and let out a howl of pain and hissed. He got back onto his feet and retracted his wings so they were pulled up against his body as he felt them slowly mending themselves back to normal. After a couple of minutes the wing was back to normal, but unfortunately Tai was not. During those few precious minutes, Gigadramon decided on attacking and let out a large number of attacks one after another. Since Tai couldn't take to the skies, he found himself rolling on the ground after being hit by Gigadramon's wings, claws and missiles.

Tai tried to take in a couple of deep breaths and winced when he found he couldn't, his ribs protesting loudly. Tai lifted a claw and gently poked his ribs and found a couple of them were broken. Deciding he could not move right away because of his battered state, he decided to take a break and lay on the ground for the mean time until his ribs were back in shape. His wings covered his body as Gigadramon attacked again. "GIGA BYTE WING!" the furious digimon yelled out as gusts of wind came crashing down upon Tai. Luckily his wings were there to protect him from the brunt of the force. He saw Gigadramon attacking him with his wings through his own wings and was happy to find out that his wings were stronger than they looked.

'_What's taking so long?'_ Tai suddenly wondered as he realized it was taking him twice as long to heal himself now. Tai heard the missiles before seeing them but once he caught sight of the attack, he brought his left hand up, along with his wings, just incase his left hand did not work properly. He knew it could take in any elemental attacks, but was not quite sure about missiles. As they closed in on his hand, the missiles slowed down, coming to a stop as they brushed ever so gently against his raised arm. His white wings covered the rest of his body as he felt the last of the pains disappearing. Tai then got onto his feet, careful not to touch any of the missiles as they hummed and circled his arm.

Tai took into the sky once again, his left arm out and away from his body as he flew towards Gigadramon. He did not feel as fast as he thought he would as it seemed to take forever to approach the digimon. When he was at a distance that he thought was adequate, he let the missiles loose as they hit the digimon in the stomach, going through him as they blew up on impact. The digimon gave a loud yell as he felt his gut being ripped apart from his own missiles.

Gigadramon saw the boy approaching him with his missiles curled around his arm and decided to counter with his own missiles, but he was too late to react as Tai let the missiles fly a little earlier than he anticipated.

Growling, the digimon felt the blood seeping out of him. Tai looked over at the wounded digimon as he felt his strength leaving him. Tai slowly flew back down onto the ground and realized that last attack took out a lot of his energy, more than he thought it would. Gasping for air, he rested on his knees as he looked up at Gigadramon. The digimon looked as if it would strike in fury any moment, but Tai didn't care too much about that at the time. He felt like taking a nap was a higher priority than attacking the digimon in his current state.

'_What's going on? Why do I feel so tired?'_ Tai asked himself as he felt his eyes slowly closing on him as he fought to keep his eyes open and on the digimon who was coming towards him. The brown haired boy suddenly saw a pink blur race by his face as he collapsed onto the ground, his eyes closing on him as he fell into a light sleep, trying to gain back his energy.

Piximon saw the boy collapsing under his own weight and realized it might have been too much for the boy to handle two digimon at his current level. Piximon assumed that this was the first time Tai had ever transformed into his full digimon state and realized it depleted him of more energy than he was used to. The small digimon raced towards the boy as he flew by and took care of the wounded digimon with one strike of his staff. He then flew over to the fallen boy as he waved his wand behind him. The bubble with Agumon and Biyomon in it slowly floated to the ground and with a small 'pop,' it broke, letting the two anxious digimon free.

----

Sora's eyes widened as she saw Gigadramon, his eyes glowing fiercely at Tai. The digimon unleashed a ton of missiles that went straight for Tai. She watched as he took off into the air, leading the missiles straight towards the digimon who sent them at him. Sora grinned. '_Nice move.'_

She soon heard herself gasp as Tai was hit on the wing by Gigadramon's claws and watched as Tai plummeted to the ground. "Tai," she whispered under her breath as she saw him groan in pain. When Monochromon attacked the vulnerable Tai, Sora felt herself getting angry as she watched Tai getting beaten by Gigadramon's attacks. '_I guess he can't dodge a flying digimon while on the ground, and with his wing like that, he can't get into the air,'_ Sora thought with a sympathetic look on her face. She saw Tai cover himself with his wings as the digimon continued attacking.

When the digimon gave him a small break, she saw the brown haired boy lifting one arm into the air. '_Probably to protect himself.' _

Gigadramon let out another flow of missiles and Sora was surprised as the missiles slowly cradled Tai's outstretched arm. She saw Tai pull himself off the ground, missiles on his arm. He flew back towards the digimon and let the missiles loose as they ripped apart the digimon's stomach. Sora saw the blood pool around on the ground below as the thick substance dripped from Gigadramon's abdomen. The red liquid hissed and bubbled as it came into contact with the hot ground. Sora turned her gaze away from the gruesome screen and watched Taichi.

"Something's not right," she whispered as she locked onto Tai's panting form. "Taichi!" Sora yelled out as she scrambled onto her feet. "Piximon, you've got to help him!" Sora yelled out as she pushed and urged the pink digimon to fly over to Tai. She watched Piximon as he took care of the wounded digimon and she raced over to Tai's side.

"Tai?" she asked as she rolled him onto his back and cradled his head on her lap. She slowly watched as his wings slowly shimmered and retracted in a bit. Then they suddenly disappeared with a gust of wind as hundreds upon hundreds of shiny white feathers floated around them. Sora's eyes widened as a light feather landed in her palm.

"Don't worry, his wings will come back when he transforms again," Piximon reassured the red haired girl as she kept her eyes glued onto the boy in front of her. She saw Tai's claws retract, his limbs slowly shrinking in size. His pants were finally the right size but looked a bit stretched out as it hung loosely on his hips, threatening to slip off if he made any move to get up. Then his canine teeth started to retract back into his gums, revealing his normal tooth size once again.

'_He's back to normal now,'_ Sora sighed as she saw her two digimon friends rushing over to their side.

"Is he okay?" Agumon asked with a shaky voice as Biyomon threw her shaking body towards Sora. Sora nodded at Agumon and pulled both the digimon into a brief hug as she consoled them and took care of their worries.

"He's sleeping right now. Don't worry. He's back to normal now, all of his bruises taken care of," Sora replied with a small smile as Agumon slowly let go of Sora and went to Tai's side and sat down as he gripped his friend's hand between his claws.

Sora ran a hand through Tai's chocolate brown hair as he let out a soft moan, his eyebrows knitted together. She ran a hand through a couple more times and saw his face easing up as it took on a peaceful look. Sora stopped when she heard Piximon's voice again.

"You all have the rest of the day off. To let Tai settle down with his new powers, I shall give him the day off tomorrow, but we shall resume your training tomorrow afternoon," Piximon concluded with a slight nod as he took off into the kitchens. Before he left, he told them, "Lunch is ready, whenever you feel up to it."

Agumon heard his stomach rumbling soon after and Sora laughed. "Agumon, Biyomon, why don't you two get something to eat, I'll come as soon as Tai wakes up."

Agumon nodded hesitantly as Biyomon flew over to his side and started pulling on his arm. "Let's go Agumon," the bird digimon said as she flew towards the kitchens.

"Make sure you call me if anything happens," Agumon yelled out as he ran towards the kitchens. Sora smiled at the two digimon and then turned her attention onto Tai.

She suddenly heard a deep, husky voice coming from the man lying in front of her. "Why'd you stop?" he asked quietly as he slowly opened his eyes and gazed into her bright red ones.

"You're awake!" Sora exclaimed slapping him lightly on the chest, realizing he was faking sleeping for a while now. Tai grinned as he took her hand in his and placed it back on his chest, as he moved around slightly, to find a comfortable position with his head on her lap. Sora felt herself suddenly blushing as she took a look over at Tai again.

"So are all your senses back to normal now?" she asked tentatively.

Tai nodded briefly and then frowned. "Actually, no," Tai replied as he found that his nose was still as sensitive as ever and his hearing was still picking up everything around him. "My sense of smell and hearing haven't decreased, but everything else feels like it's back to normal," Tai stated as he sniffed the air. He found that Sora was no longer afraid of him and had a soft smell of jasmine surrounding her. He then caught the mix of Sora's metallic blood in the air again as it teased his nose along with a couple of other fragrant smells that were coming off the girl behind him. Twisting his head slightly he found that her clothes still had blood on them and that's where the metallic smell was coming from. He suddenly remembered what Piximon had done to cause the spilling of her blood in the first place and found himself growling from the back of his throat.

"Tai?" Sora asked softly as she heard the teenager in front of her growling. At the sound of her voice, he suddenly stopped and looked up at her.

"I'm sorry about what Piximon did to you, Sora," he said with a sincere tone.

"She smiled and then said, "I'm fine now, so that's all that matters."

"But it wasn't right of him to use you like that in the first place," Tai gritted out as he felt the urge to squeeze that digimon to death.

"Tai, don't worry about it," she told him as she removed her hand from his chest and placed it on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. I know you're hungry," she laughed as she heard his stomach complain about the lack of food.

The brown haired boy grinned in reply, his boyish features returning as he got off of her lap and offered her a hand once he was on his feet. She took his hand and hoisted herself up and then let go reluctantly, a weird feeling creeping into her heart. They both made their way into the kitchen and saw Agumon and Biyomon stuffing their faces as a couple of digimon were racing back and forth from the tables to the stove as they brought more plates full of food to the hungry digimon.

"You know," Tai started as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed against his chest, his legs crossed at the ankle as he took in the sight in front of him. "I did all the battling. Why are you guys so hungry?" he asked with a grin.

"You probably worked up their appetite by getting them so worried," Sora muttered under her breath, but Tai caught it.

"Well, it wasn't my fault!" Sora blushed as she realized Tai heard what she said.

"So I guess I can't even whisper around you now, can I?" Sora chuckled.

"Tai!" Agumon yelled out as he jumped out of his seat, his mouth full of food as he raced up to Tai, hugging his legs. Tai smiled and rubbed the top of his friend's head.

"Just don't spit that food all over me, now," Tai laughed as Sora and he took their seats at the table and a couple of digimon brought them some food. Agumon took his seat again and resumed his meal.

"So are you alright now?" Agumon asked between gulps of food. Tai nodded and smelled the food in front of him.

"Smells really good!" Tai exclaimed as he dug in. He found that he could even smell the small traces of spices that they used in the meal to give it an exotic flavor. "I smell basil in this," Tai commented lightly as he drank in the soup in front of him. The chef nodded.

"I'm surprised you could smell that. I only add a pinch of that stuff," the chef told the teen as he walked back into the kitchen.

Sora threw him a questioning look and Tai tapped his nose. "It's all in the nose hon. All in the nose," he grinned. Sora frowned and sniffed the soup, but couldn't get a whiff of anything that he was describing was in the soup. She shrugged and tasted it.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter, as long as it tastes fine," she said lightly. Tai gave a thumbs up to that.

Once done with their meal, the group of four decided to head up to their room. As soon as Tai saw the futons, he collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Maybe you should shower first, Tai," Sora commented as she dug through her bag for something. Tai pushed himself onto his hands as he got into a sitting position and watched Sora.

"Hum, maybe your right," he muttered as he pulled himself off the futon with a groan and walked to the bathroom. The door closed with a small click and Sora heard rushing water behind her as she finally found what she was looking for.

"There you are, you little bugger," Sora said as she pulled her d-terminal out of her bag. She turned her head as her digimon gave a small squawk.

"What is it Biyomon?"

"Can Agumon and I visit some friends downstairs?" Biyomon asked as Agumon fidgeted behind her.

"Sure. Just close the door behind you when you leave," Sora smiled as she watched the two digimon race out the door. She laid down on her futon, her back pressed up against the feathery bed as she held the small contraption in front of her as she checked for any emails or updates from any of her friends. Scanning through her emails, she found an email from Mimi, and stopped to read it.

_Hey girl,_

_What's up? How is it over there?…_

Sora quickly scanned the email and found out that Davis found himself a girlfriend in the States and that both the girl and him are enrolled in the same cooking school that is located near Mimi's apartment. Smiling, she finished reading the rest of the email, rolling her eyes at her friend's complaining of her girl problems and then closed her d-terminal, laying it on the futon beside hers. She then pulled herself up to a sitting position with her back resting against the stone wall behind her. Just as she sat up, she heard the click of the bathroom door as it opened and a very wet Tai stepped out as he shook his hair of the water.

A couple of drops accidentally landed on Sora and she let out a soft gasp and lightly yelled, "Tai!" as she looked over at him. She gulped when he finally came into view, only wrapped in a white towel that hung around his waist. Sora could suddenly hear her frantic heart beating in her ears as she looked over Tai. It seemed as if some of the digimon transformation still stayed with him because he looked a little more muscular now than he did before the transformation. His 'scrawny boy' image was gone and replaced with a well-sculptured man standing before the blushing redhead.

Sora knew Tai was definitely fit from playing soccer and everything, and his legs were in shape from running around, but he didn't lift weights or do anything to build up his upper body strength so he was lacking in arm and chest muscles. But with the digimon blood coursing through his veins, after the transformation, he found his chest to be more taut, his arms to be a little more muscular and he was now sporting a six-pack abs. It wasn't very obvious before, but now one could easily see his muscles that weren't quite visible previously.

As Tai turned to look at Sora, she felt herself jump slightly as he laid eyes on her. She stared back and soon felt a funny feeling take over her heart and stomach. Unknowingly, she suddenly felt her eyes darkening with a hint of desire as she was pulled into his chocolate brown gaze.

-----

Tai got out of the tub with a moan, his muscles complaining about the lack of hot water running over them. He definitely felt a difference after taking a hot shower. The warm water eased into his skin making his tight muscles stretch loose.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and realized, with a groan, that he left his clothes in his duffel bag, which was outside the bathroom. He grabbed a small towel off the towel rack and rubbed his hair, trying to get out as much water as he could. Sighing, he rolled his head a couple of times, to stretch out the tired neck muscles and opened the bathroom door when he had the towel tightly secured around his waist.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he shook his wet hair around, trying to get a little more water from his semi- dry hair before he started dripping water all over the room. He heard a small squeal and a short "Tai!" as he turned his head to look over at Sora. Apparently, he shook his head a little too hard since some water landed on Sora too. He looked at her silently, his eyes locking with her red gaze as he watched her.

He could hear her heart beating in his ears as he found it speeding up with every passing second. He silently wondered why as he kept his gaze in line with hers. He could feel her heated gaze pulling at his heartstrings. He tried to pull away but found that he could not, her stare held him firmly in place. He suddenly heard her breathing becoming shallower as her eyes darkened with desire.

He found his body taking a couple of steps in her direction so his feet barely brushed the end of the futons as he gulped. He could smell her enticing scent again, pulling him closer to her, but once again, it was mixed with something else that he could barely make out. '_Lust?'_ the brown haired boy questioned as he felt his pulse rate increase suddenly as he finally realized how Sora felt. All of a sudden, he felt very nervous and forced himself to break their gaze as he forcefully turned his head to the side as he looked at their room door.

"I- I uh… forgot my clothes," Tai choked out as he walked back to his duffle bag to get his clothes. He did not dare to take another look at Sora as he felt his face turn a bright red. He picked up the bag and went back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him as he leaned against the door and took in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

Sora meanwhile was completely shocked at how she felt. She didn't think she would be _lusting_ over _Tai_ so quickly after she broke up with Matt. A slightly guilty feeling along with an embarrassed look crept onto her face as she felt her cheeks heat up. But somewhere deep down, she knew she had buried feelings for Tai and they were resurfacing very, very rapidly. Faster than she would like to admit. And if Tai made any advances towards her, she knew that she would have no problem giving in, considering how she felt about him and his change.

Sora sighed as she tried to settle her feelings and her heart down, but it wasn't working. Every time she thought of Tai, the image of him dripping wet, wrapped in a towel came to the front of her mind. She lay back down and closed her eyes, praying that Tai wouldn't see her cherry red face as he walked out of the bathroom again. He closed the bathroom door softly and dropped his duffle bag back onto the ground as he came out wearing an almost transparent, very loose, silk black pant and walked over to Sora.

Sora cracked her eyes open to take a look at him, saw what he was wearing, and closed her eyes again, trying to throw the image out of her head again. '_His pant is barely hanging on his hips…' _a frantic feeling rushing through her.She felt her futon dip slightly at her feet and felt a warm body crawl next to hers.

Tai bent down, crawled next to Sora and laid down next to her as he propped his head up on his hand as his elbow supported the weight. He made sure to put a little bit of distance between the two of them as he sensed her unease. '_These heightened senses are really paying off,'_ he thought to himself, grinning inwardly. _'At least I now know if someone is really uneasy or angry, or something.'_ Tai had planned on sleeping, but that bath left him feeling refreshed and more awake than he thought he would.

Sora opened her eyes as she felt a pair of eyes staring a hole through her face. She turned her head and found Tai staring right back at her, his head propped up on his elbow. She shifted uneasily as she let her tongue flicker out, licking her dry lips and caught Tai's gaze moving down to her lips as she quickly retracted her tongue back into her mouth as she blushed lightly. His darkened gaze moved back to her eyes as he quietly asked, "You okay now?" his voice low and deep.

Sora gulped and nodded her head silently, afraid to tear her eyes away from the chocolate brown gaze that held her in place. She felt like she was falling into a pool of chocolate with no way out, but she did not mind one bit, she realized, as she whispered his name softly. She could barely hear it herself, but realized she said something by the humming of her chest.

"_Taichi,"_ he heard her whisper. It wasn't even as loud as a whisper and he doubted she could even hear what she said, but he heard it loud and clear, letting it ring through his ears, a lazy smile taking over his lips. He let his gaze go back down to her moist lips, wondering if they tasted like the cherry flavored chap stick that she used. He could easily smell the cherry flavor now with his nose. He moved a little closer to the red haired girl, bending down so that his lips now rested right above her ear.

"_Yes?_" he asked, fully knowing that she wouldn't have a clue about what he was talking about, since she barely even heard herself uttering his name. He felt his right arm brush up against her side as he tried to hold himself up, preventing himself from falling on top of her. His lips so close to her ear, he could smell the shampoo she had used to wash her hair as he closed his eyes and took another whiff of it. _"Jasmine… isn't it?"_ he drawled on as he whispered the question onto her ear, his hot breath causing shivers to run down her spine.

Sora found herself shivering at his close proximity. He asked a question but she could barely register what he asked. Her mind felt like it was slowly turning to mush under his voice. She couldn't think straight, she couldn't focus at all and felt a stir of emotions churning and pulling at her heart. Swallowing, she turned her head to the side so she could look at Tai and then asked, "what?"

Tai saw her turn her head to the side as he placed his head on his folded arm so he was now laying down next to the crimson haired girl, her lips currently a breath away from his, since she turned her head when his lips were next to her ear. He felt her hot breath on his lips as she whispered out, _"what?" _in a cute and confusing tone. He gave a small chuckle and then repeated his question as he lifted his right arm and brushed a strand of red hair off her face. He let his fingers linger on her cheek a little longer than would have been allowed if they had their emotions in check. "_Jasmine_, right?" he whispered back as his lips brushed the corner of her mouth ever so slightly. He couldn't help himself with her looking at him the way she currently was.

Sora sucked in her breath softly as she felt Tai's lips press up against the corner of her mouth. She heard him repeat his question but was too caught up with her emotions and the sound of her heart thumping in her ears, that she couldn't make out what he was asking her. She didn't dare to ask him to repeat himself again, fearing that she would sound stupid. She just nodded her head ever so slightly, hoping that was the right answer to his question.

Tai saw a small incline in her head as Sora nodded a yes, confusion swirling in her eyes. '_Looks like she has no clue as to what I asked. I could have asked her if she was gay, and she would have nodded!'_ Tai thought, a sly grin covering his face. He let out a deep chuckle as rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching. He glanced down to her lips once again, her moist lips looking ever so inviting. He could feel her breath on his face as he brought his eyes back up to hers. He was now leaning over her, his body in an awkward shape as he moved his right arm on to the other side of her waist to hold himself up.

Tai could feel her cloth-clad chest brush up against his every time she took in a breath of air, teasing him ever so slightly. It felt like hours had passed between them, when in actuality, it was only a couple of minutes. Tai finally found his voice again and asked what was bugging him for a while now. He could easily smell her excitement with a hint of nervousness and that turned him on. "Can I kiss you?" he asked huskily, his eyes darkening with unspoken emotions.

Sora looked up at Tai with her bright red eyes, as the brown haired boy brought his forehead down upon hers, his right arm going onto the other side of her waist so she was currently under him. She could feel his chest resting against hers lightly as he asked her another question. Her mind, too muddled with emotions, could not focus on the words, just the voice, and nodded her head absentmindedly, hope that would take care of his questions. She suddenly felt him tilt his head to the side as he brushed his lips against hers ever so softly, never breaking eye contact with her.

Daring to do so again, Tai leaned down once more and brush his lips against hers in a teasing manner as he moved to kiss her cheek. He saw Sora close her eyes as she let out a soft sigh and continued to let his instincts take over. His kissed his way down from her cheek to her lips and then brushed his lips against hers again, barely grazing the top. He heard her moan out in frustration as she leaned up ever so slightly, catching his lips briefly before he pulled back and continued kissing the corner of her mouth.

Sora felt Tai's soft lips brush against her mouth for the second time, his lips teasing hers in a seductive manner. She could smell his cologne as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. She closed her eyes, allowing him to take over as he kissed his way to her lips. He brushed his lips against hers once again. If she didn't know any better, she would think someone was running a feather over her lips ever so lightly. She heard herself moan as she leaned up to catch his lips with hers and felt him pull back. Her heart fluttered with a slight fear for a brief moment until she felt him press his lips against the corner of her mouth.

She could feel him smirking against her skin and she growled as she realized he was teasing her.

Tai heard the fiery redhead underneath him growl as he continued teasing her as he kissed the tip of her nose this time. Something primal in him was turned on by her growl as he felt his heart tightening with overflowing emotions. His eyes ran over her face once again, taking in her closed eyes, her rosy cheeks, and her parted, full lips. He was surprised that he even had this much control over his body as he felt the need to kiss her senseless slowly taking over him. But he would wait… _for now_.

Tai bent over to the side once again as he buried the tip of his nose into her hair and breathed deeply. He let his weight onto his side as his arm fell across Sora's flat stomach, his arm rising slightly every time she took in a breath of air. Tai opened his eyes again and kissed her earlobe softly and then, being daring enough, he gave it a soft nip. She gave a soft gasp at the new sensations as her hands came to rest upon his right forearm. Tai immediately licked the spot that he nipped and then moved down the shell of her ear, kissing, nipping and licking the outside of her ear before he came back to her jaw line.

"_Sora,"_ he muttered softly as he kissed his way back to her lips, placing feathery light kisses across her face. Sora let out another frustrated moan as he teased her lips again, this time running the pad of his thumb over her lower lip, ever so gently.

"_Taichi_," Sora heard herself whimpering out as she felt him run his thumb over her lower lip.

"Tell me what you want… _Sora_," he whispered into her ear as he rubbed his face against hers gently.

His hot breath tickled her ear as his voice sent shivers down her spine once again. All she could make out from his question was 'you want' before her mind jumbled up the rest of the question. She let out a soft moan as his hand went back and rubbed along her side, his lithe fingers drawing small figures across her stomach. Her hands gripped his forearm tighter as she rolled over onto her side, pulling him a little closer to her. At this point, she couldn't even think straight as she went on pure emotion alone.

Tai heard the girl under him moan as his right hand went back down to her side, his fingers slowly gliding over her stomach. He suddenly felt her hands grasping his arm as she turned her self onto her side and opened her red eyes to gaze at him. Their noses were touching, her body pressed up against his, in a not so innocent fashion. Tai gulped as he felt the beast inside him roaring to be let out and felt himself falling into her gaze. Her nimble fingers kept running up and down his arm in a lazy fashion and he slowly felt himself loosing control over his emotions. He could see her want and acceptance in her eyes and knew that she gave him permission to kiss her.

The brown haired boy suddenly found himself letting out a low, sensual growl before he tilted his head and grasped her lips with his in a fiery kiss. He gently pushed her back down onto her back as he rolled on top of her, moving slightly so he could get into a more comfortable position. He made sure to rest his upper body on his elbows and knees as he gently leaned over her. He saw Sora closing her eyes as she leaned up slightly for another kiss. He gladly obliged as his lips came into contact with hers once again. They only stopped to take a breath of air. Once his lungs were satisfied, Tai attacked her lips once again, running his tongue along her lower lip.

Tai leaned onto his left side a bit more as he allowed his right hand to wander, running his fingers along the length of Sora's torso and arm. They found the hem of her shirt and hesitantly pulled her shirt up a little higher as he ran his fingers over her stomach, the skin-to-skin contact sending a trail of fire under his fingers.

Sora felt his tongue gently brushing up against her lower lip and she opened her mouth to allow him in. She felt his tongue slither against her own and she let out a soft gasp into his mouth as he continued to ravish her mouth. She felt him pull her torn shirt up ever so slightly; feeling him hesitating as he gently placed his fingers on her skin. He ran his fingers over her stomach as she felt a fire starting to burn in the pit of her stomach, her skin tingling under his feather light touch. She placed her hands on Tai's back, allowing her fingers to drink in the touch of his hard, muscular back.

Between all of the new emotions that she felt with Tai and the exciting sensations that he made her feel, she realized that Matt could never make her feel like this… as if she was burning from the inside, her heart desperately pounding against her rib cage, her head spinning fast enough that she couldn't even form a single thought, her body aching in places she had never thought of, desperate for the brown haired man's touch.

Tai pulled away from Sora to catch his breath and without a moment to waste, his lips went down to her neck as she tilted her head slightly, to give him better access. Tai dared to lift his hand a little higher, and then some more when he felt no hesitation from her. As he sniffed her sent once more, he smelt her arousal as well as nervous excitement coursing through her body. Grinning against her neck as he placed kisses against her skin, he realized that she wanted this as much as he did and was every bit as willing as her moans and whimpers indicated.

He soon found his fingers brushing up against Sora's bra as he realized he let his fingers wander up a little too far. He gulped and brought his hand down a bit, not wanting to scare her off. He wanted to take this slow and tried not to rush things. He gently nipped on the cords of her neck, suddenly feeling an itching sensation on his gums. Frowning he suddenly had the sudden urge to bite her, to taste her blood, to mark her as _his_.

His eyes wide, he pulled back suddenly, scared of the new emotions flowing through his veins. Tai stared at Sora's face, her eyes still closed as he brought his face to the side, letting himself roll of her body and onto his side. His arm still laid on her stomach, under her shirt, but he stopped moving as he tried to examine his new feelings.

Sora slowly opened her eyes as she felt him stop moving against her. One moment, he was kissing her neck, the next moment he stopped. She felt him move and his weight lifted off of her as he rolled back onto his side, his hand stopped moving on her stomach. _Was it because he thought he was moving too fast? _Sora wondered. She had no problems as to where he placed his hands, she knew he could control himself and had no worries about him. She was even surprised when he brought his hand back down to her waist again when he realized he brought it a little too high and she smiled at that.

Sora turned to her side and looked at Tai questioningly. Tai gave her a soft smile and shook his head as he muttered, "I didn't want to rush things too fast." Sora smiled softly and realized he was just a big softy at heart and really cared about her. She leaned a little closer to him and gently pressed her lips against his, waiting for him to respond. She felt him stiffen for a split second and then ease into the kiss as he responded back to her.

As they broke apart once again, their lungs protesting from the lack of air, she whispered, "It's okay. I was actually expecting you to go further than this. You surprised me!" She gave a small laugh. "Don't worry. I think your doing just fine," she told him as she brushed her lips against his once more and then snuggled up to him as she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his broad chest. She finally found herself easily accepting all the new emotions that came with her thoughts of Tai. Tai shifted once again as he rolled onto his back, Sora coming with him so she was now laying on her side, her arms around his waist, head on his chest and Tai's left arm now wrapped around her small waist, pulling her closer to him.

Tai ran a hand through Sora's hair as she placed her head on his chest. He was glad he wasn't rushing things too fast and was happy that Sora thought so too. Technically speaking, this was his first official girlfriend, if he could call her that, and he did not know how far he could and couldn't take it. But apparently, he was doing just fine, he thought, grinning. '_I guess it was a good thing those weird feelings took over at that time then… otherwise I would have kept going,'_ Taichi contemplated as he looked down at the redhead on his chest. He laid his head back down and wondered about those feelings that went through him at that moment.

'_I guess those were the possessive digimon's feelings… wanting her as his?'_ Tai thought with a questioning frown on his face. '_I felt the same way when we were in the kitchen, as the digimon inside me wanted to make her his, place his mark on her, to ward off anyone else that came near…'_ Tai grumbled softly wondering why digimon had to make a big deal out of everything… not that he minded… he definitely wouldn't mind making Sora his… but this early into their relationship, it felt as if it was too soon to tell and the digimon inside him was getting antsy already.

Sora heard a soft rumbling going through Tai's chest and she lifted her head slightly to glance over at him. "What's wrong?" she asked as she kissed the corner of his mouth softly.

"Nothing," Tai mumbled as he felt himself and Sora jump at the sound of a loud knocking noise at the door. Before Sora could ask him anything more on the subject, two digimon came bouncing into the room, eager to tell of their adventures around the coliseum. Tai heard himself moaning at the lack of warmth as Sora pulled herself away from him and sat up as she looked at her digimon.

"Taichi!" Agumon screamed out like a small kid as he jumped onto Tai's stomach. Tai's eyes widened as he felt his breath leaving him, his head coming up slightly from the impact.

"Agumon!" Tai coughed out once he found his breath again. He groaned in annoyance at the small digimon as he pushed the yellow digimon off his stomach onto the bed next to his and glared at his friend. Agumon ignored the look of contempt on his friend's face and continued talking like there was no tomorrow, Biyomon adding in every now and then. Sora listed in intently, know that one of them had to listen to them or they would just bug the two teenagers until they listened; so Sora decided to give them her attention. She nodded every once in a while as she looked at Agumon and Biyomon, giggling at their antics or glaring at them when they went to bother Piximon or the older digimon, but in the end, the three of them laughed it off.

Tai sat up once Agumon was thrown off of him and grumbled under his breath at the annoying interruption. He knew he shouldn't feel this way towards his best digimon friend, but couldn't help the feeling of annoyance boiling up inside of him as Sora's attention went away from him onto the two digimon that were crowded around her. He gave a soft growl as she started laughing at their antics, her face brightening up at their story. He was already missing the body heat that she provided and the sweet smell that had tantalized him. He sighed and rested his back against the cold stonewall behind him as he realized it was useless to get her attention away from the two chatterboxes. '_As soon as their out of this room, I'll get her to turn her attention back to me,'_ he thought as a low growl came from the back of his throat once again.

Tai's eyes widened suddenly as he realized the digimon inside of him was taking over, making him so possessive. He realized he was never like this before, and he would have probably been blushing from head to toe if Agumon and Biyomon showed up when they did and found that he probably would not have had as much courage to do what he did today without the digimon side of him pushing him forward. _Is it me or is it the digimon inside of me that wants Sora?_ He had to wonder about that. But then he shook that thought out of his head.

He knew it was silly to wonder about such things because for as long as he could remember, he had liked Sora as a friend, then as a best friend, and then something more than a friend, and his digimon side was just making this more obvious and easier for him by happening to go after the same girl. _'I should be thankful for this… I shouldn't hate this,'_ thought Tai. The expression that now settled on his face made it seem as if he had just received an epiphany, which he sort of did. '_I guess it would be worse if my digimon side actually went after a digimon,'_ Tai snickered and then got a horrific image of him kissing a digimon as he shook his head violently, hitting his head against the back to the wall to get the image out of his head. "No thanks," he mumbled under his breath.

Tai closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to calm his over excited nerves. Then he looked over at his digimon who was staring right back at him, blinking. Tai raised an eyebrow at him and wondered what he wanted.

"Are. You. o.k. Tai?" Agumon asked in a slow and deliberate manner.

Tai scowled at Agumon's tone of question, crossed his arms over his chest and then replied, "I'm fine," with a small 'hmph' at the end. "Anyways, I think I'm going to take a short nap, all that fighting earlier took a toll on my body," the brown haired boy exclaimed as he slid down onto his futon. He turned to face the door, his back towards Sora and the chatterboxes as he tried to get their voices out of his head. Unfortunately his sensitive hearing picked up everything so it took him a good while to actually fall into a light slumber as he tried to unsuccessfully block out the voices.

Sora saw Tai lay down on his futon, telling them he was going to take a short nap. He turned his back to them as he laid down, _probably because of all the noise,_ she thought as she crawled to the end of the futon, grasped Tai's blanket by his feet and slowly pulled it over his body. He turned slightly to glance at her and she gave a small smile as she pulled the thin blanket high enough to cover himself up to his forearms. "I'll wake you up in an hour or so, okay? Then we can probably head back to the real world for a couple of hours and be back here for dinnertime," she told Tai, who acknowledged the plans with a nod.

She was about to tell Tai that there was no training for him tomorrow, but he turned back around as he slowly fell asleep. She sighed and decided to just tell him when he woke up. Getting off of her futon, Sora sniffed the air for a second and realized that she didn't smell so good. She was still covered with the shirt she wore in the morning, and it was currently ripped and smeared with dry blood and looked as if it was about to fall off her shoulders with a slight tug. She walked over to her duffle bag and pulled one of the many dresser drawers open. She started unloading her clothes into the drawer and was happy to see pretty much all of her clothes fit into one of those drawers.

"Biyomon, Agumon, we'll be going to the real world in an hour or so, alright?" Sora told them as they nodded back to her and continued chatting amongst themselves. Grabbing a yellow short-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue shorts as well as some undergarments, she made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She saw Tai's torn training clothes and the wet towel lying in a heap beside the tub and shook her head. '_I hope he isn't this messy at home… though I doubt it by looking at the state of his room…I should ask Piximon to put a hamper or clothes basket in here or something,'_ Sora thought as she started to undress.

Once her bath was done, she quickly changed into her fresh clothes and got a couple of her perfumes and other items from her duffle bag and brought them back to the bathroom. The mirror above the sink opened outward to reveal a few large shelves embedded into the wall. She placed her stuff there, applying a couple of things, before closing the mirror door again. Walking out of the bathroom, she shut the door behind her and glanced at her watch. '_Two p.m. Well, I guess I should wake Tai up.' _Sora glanced around the room and found that she had spent longer than planned in the shower, close to forty-five minutes, and that the digimon managed to fall asleep leaning against one another, Agumon snoring loudly.

A small smile appeared on the redhead's face as she leaned down onto her knees next to Tai as she gently shook him awake. "Tai, wake up," she said softly as she gently shook him awake. "No use," she muttered under her breath, as he didn't even budge. "Tai! Wake up!" she semi- shouted into his ear, knowing with his overly sensitive ears, he should definitely hear her now. He groaned, swatting the annoying perpetrator with the back of his hand as he rolled onto his back and continued to sleep. Sora rolled her eyes and pulled his blanket off his body. As she did, a cold wind nipped at his skin as blind fingers tried to find the missing blanket.

Moaning, Tai cracked his eyes open with slight annoyance, wondering who woke him up. Catching sight of Sora, his blanket in hand, he growled softly, loud enough for him to only hear it, as he grabbed Sora by the wrist, pulling her down onto the futon. Half of her body landed on top of him, the other half on the futon underneath her as she let the blanket go in surprise. "Finally! Your up!" Sora huffed as she tried to push her self up. She fell back on top of Tai when she felt him tighten his grip around her waist and pull her closer to him.

Tai pulled the red haired beauty closer to his body as he snuggled closer to her warmth. "You took my blanket, so you'll have to replace it," he replied gruffly as he pressed his face against her neck and hair, his breath tickling her neck. As he took in a deep breath, he realized she smelled slightly different, more flowery than bloody, not that he minded at all… just made it more alluring to him as he placed soft, chaste kisses along the length of her neck.

"Tai!" Sora giggled as his breath and lips tickled her neck. "Come on, we have to go back to the real world," she told him as she tried to pull herself away from him but he didn't allow her out of his grasp as he rolled her down against the futon and captured her lips with his.

"Later…" he mumbled against her lips. "Why can't we just go tomorrow or something?" he asked as he continued kissing along her jaw and down her neck.

"Tai…" she grumbled out as Tai managed to get her heart and mind all jumbled up again. He gave her one last kiss on the lips, leaving her breathless and slightly dazed as he lifted himself off the futons and went over to his duffle bag, digging around for a clean shirt and pant.

Grinning, Tai turned around, his back facing Sora, as he slipped on the black cotton shirt and pulled down his silk night pants. He quickly slipped his blue jeans on and then walked into the bathroom to wash his face. He knew Sora would be ticked off at him for leaving her like that, he could smell frustration and exhilaration mixed together, rolling off of her in large waves as they crashed upon his senses. Shrugging, Tai splashed a couple handfuls of cold water on his face, the shock of the drastic temperature change against his face effectively waking him up. He grabbed a small cloth off the rack, wiped his face and then walked back out, saying, "I'm ready to go."

Sora glared at him lightly as she felt her desire for him taking over her body again. '_How dare he do that to me…' _Sora grumbled as she woke her two-digimon friends up with a quick shake of the shoulder. She shook her head lightly, steeling herself against her wanton feelings for Tai and walked over to her duffle bag and took hold of her digivice.

"Is everyone ready?" she asked, trying to avoid eye contact with Tai for the time being, until she got her wild emotions in check. If she looked at him now, she was afraid they wouldn't be going back to the real world any time soon…

Agumon rubbed his tired eyes and slapped himself awake as he walked up to the two teenagers, Biyomon close behind him. "Ready."

Sora pulled up the digi portal, found Tai's link to his computer on the map in front of her and pointed her digivice towards the computer. They were suddenly sucked in and found themselves back in Tai's room, sprawled out on the floor once again.

"Isn't there an easier way to land back home? Something more graceful?" Sora muttered under her breath as she rubbed her sore butt, grimacing.

"I could rub it better for you," a deep voice chuckled behind her as Tai pulled himself off the floor.

Sora's eyes widened, her face turning pink as she stuttered out, "Tai!"

"Joking! Joking!" he claimed as he placed his hands in front of him to protect himself from the fiery girl. Glaring at him she pulled herself off the ground and walked over to his bedroom door.

Turning around, she suddenly asked, "Do you want to tell anyone… about…" trailing off, not quite sure what to call them right now, as she pulled the bedroom door open with one hand. They never addressed the issue yet, she realized, and she wanted to get it cleared up before facing Tai's sister or parents.

"Not yet. We'll keep it a secret- just you and me," he whispered into her ear as he walked by, exiting the room, Biyomon and Agumon in line behind him. He found Kari eating a small lunch at the dining table and went over to greet her and his mom, who was cooking something in the kitchen.

Sora shook herself out of her stupor and followed after the digimon, closing the door behind her as she stuffed her digivice into her shorts pocket. "Hi Mr. Kamiya," she greeted as she saw Tai's father walking out of the bedroom, neatly pressed dress clothes covering him.

"Hello Sora," he greeted with a nod of his head. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine thank you. I just got back from the digital world with Tai," she mentioned as she pointed towards her digimon and Tai. She walked alongside her friend's father until they reached the kitchen.

"Dad!" Tai said when he caught sight of his father standing next to Sora. He walked up to his dad, gave him a brief hug and then asked, "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while since you were at work."

"I'm alright. Work's been keeping me really busy," Mr. Kamiya said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyways, forget about that. How are you? Sora told me you went to the digital world?" Tai's dad asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Tai nodded. "We went back to look for my digivice," was all he said as his mom came out of the kitchen with a freshly baked cake in her hands.

"Here you go guys… dig in! Hello Sora!" she said cheerfully as the two males next to her eyed the cake warily. Sora thanked Mrs. Kamiya and decided to take a piece out of curiosity, and politeness.

"You're one brave girl," Tai whispered to her as he walked around his father to stand next to his friend.

"Oh Tai, it can't be _that_ bad, now can it?" Sora asked as she cut a piece and placed it on a paper plate that was next to the cake. Kari just coughed in denial as she stared at the piece that Sora cut. "You want one Kari?" Sora offered.

Kari's eyes widened and she sweetly said, "after you Sora…" coughing as she tried to cover up her laughs. Sora frowned and ignored the cackling girl.

"I'm sure your mom's cooking as gotten better from the last time I tasted it," Sora mentioned lightly as she cut a tiny piece with her fork. Tai sniffed the piece in her hand and shrugged.

"We'll find out!" he said laughing as she placed the cut piece in her mouth, chewing slowly.

"Hum… it's not _that_ bad… it could have a little more sugar in it, seeing as it has no taste at all, but it's a lot better than having too much sugar… or salt in it," Sora commented as she remembered the very first cake Mrs. Kamiya made when Sora came over. The redhead shuddered just thinking about it. Mrs. Kamiya accidentally read the labels on her bottles wrong and took the salt for the sugar, making the cake uneatable.

"See?" Sora said as she took the rest of the cake piece in her hand and stuffed it into Tai's gaping mouth, giggling at his expression.

Tai suddenly found the cake piece in his open mouth as Sora caught him completely off guard and stuffed the soft fluffy substance into his mouth. He glared and sputtered, but managed to take a small bite of the cake before pulling it out of his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, deciding that it's the best cake his mom has made to date, despite it being on the dull side. But he was happy about that because one can actually add frosting or icing to make it more sugary, where as if it had other ingredients mixed into, one wouldn't be able to take it out then.

"You're right," Tai said after he swallowed. "It's not _that bad_." Sora just shot him a smug glance as she placed the rest of the cake back down onto the table. Tai looked over to the living room, glancing up at the clock that hung above the television. "Hum… it's around lunch time over here, so I figure if we spend around two to three hours here, and then go back, we can make it before bed time," Tai told Sora.

Sora nodded and then asked Tai and Kari if they would like to come over to her house for lunch. She decided to stop by her house anyways and thought they could go out for lunch if there was nothing in the house. With a couple of quick good byes, the three teenagers, as well as their digimon made their way to Sora's house.

On their way there, the three of them chatted mindlessly about various topics, Kari informing them about what was going on with the younger digidestined, Sora and Tai talking to her about the older ones.

Gatomon climbed onto Tai's shoulder, sniffed his face and then whispered, "you smell funny…"

Tai nodded and then whispered back, "I will tell you later… in a couple of days, when I'm ready." Gatomon gave him a look and then scampered down to Kari's side, taking Tai's word that he would tell her in a couple of days.

"Well, Matt and I decided to split," Sora told the girl next to her as Kari gasped softly. She smiled at the brown haired girl and said, "Don't worry about it. I think we both knew this was going to happen for a while now but never got around to talking about it," Sora concluded. '_Plus, I'm a lot happier now,'_ she thought as she slyly glanced at Tai from the corner of her eye. He caught her gaze and grinned back at her, making her blush slightly for being caught. Luckily, Kari didn't take notice of it.

"Davis has a girlfriend now, so he should stay off my back!" Kari grinned.

"Oh! I heard about that from Mimi. Give him my congratulations," Sora said smiling. "So when are you finally going to tell T.K.?" the redhead asked as she gently poked Kari's side. Kari's face immediately turned a bright red as she tried to stutter out useless cover-ups.

Finally getting her wit back, she was about to ask Sora a similar question about Tai, but caught herself, realizing that Sora might not have or might not want to release such feelings for Tai so quickly after her breakup. Little did she know that she was wrong.

"Well, I talked to Joe, and he said he was busy with college courses, Izzy and Ken are busy with a computer club, Matt's with his band- they're trying to break a deal with a record company- and Mimi's just having fun as she chills in New York," Sora said as she ticked off her fingers, making sure she counted all the older digidestined.

Kari nodded and then asked, "How's the training in the digital world going?" turning towards Tai.

Tai grimly nodded and then said, "It's alright. It's a lot of work, and Piximon makes me get up at the crack of dawn," grumbling. Sora laughed at his expression. Tai sighed and figured it was close to time that he started telling his sister what was really going on, with his digimon changes and everything. '_I'll tell her in a couple of days, after I get a hold of this transformation first.'_

In a few moments, the trio found themselves in front of Sora's family flower shop and she gingerly stepped in, the bell at the top of the door giving off a small clinging sound as she pushed the door open.

"Hi mom," Sora greeted as she went behind the counter to give her mother a brief hug.

"Hi Sora. Help me with this customer's order please," she asked her daughter, as her hands were full of various different flowers. Sora nodded and figured she could talk to her mom after helping this customer, since they were the only one's left in the store.

Looking up, she caught Ken and T.K. staring back at her, small grins lighting their faces. "Takeru! Ken! What are you guys doing here?" she gasped softly as she took the flowers from her mom and started cutting and wrapping them neatly.

Tai and Kari followed Sora in, Tai's nose twitching ever so slightly at the various flowery smells that attacked his nose. '_No wonder why Sora smells like flowers all the time… not that I mind… but this is just too much,'_ Tai thought as he tried to breath with his mouth until his nose got used to the various smells in the room. He caught sight of a blonde haired boy along side a dark haired teenager, Sora helping them with their order. He sniffed and immediately recognized the scent of T.K. and Ken and walked up to greet them.

"Hey guys," the tall brown haired boy greeted as he placed a hand on T.K.'s shoulder. Takeru's eyes widened slightly as he jumped at the new voice behind him.

Turning around, he caught sight of Tai and Kari and greeted them with warm hugs. Ken nodded and smiled, not entirely comfortable with giving hugs and kisses just yet. But he did settle for a handshake with Tai.

"So what are you two doing in here?" Sora asked as she finished snipping the last of the flowers of thorns and cut the stem a little shorter.

"Uhh…." Ken started, his face turning a little red.

"Ken here wanted to get Yolie something special, so we decided to get her a simple bouquet of flowers. Ken finally worked up the courage to ask Yolie on a date earlier last week but asked me to keep it down until they went on their first date," T.K. said, winking at Sora.

Sora's face immediately brightened as she gave a big smile to Ken and gave him a brief hug, congratulating him. Kari did the same and then stepped back to give him his space.

"Thanks…" Ken stuttered as he looked at the ground, heat rising to his face.

Tai heard that Ken finally worked up the courage to ask Yolie on a date and thought, '_It's about time!'_ He watched as Sora gave him a big smile and then walked around the counter to give him a hug. He suddenly felt a violent emotion rushing through him as he saw the younger teen placing his arms around Sora's waist as he hugged her back hesitantly. A growl burned the back of his throat as he tried to hold back his warring emotions, his fists tightly clenched by his side. As soon as he saw her letting go of the darker haired boy and stepping back to tend to the flowers, his anger and jealous feelings immediately receded and he found himself back to normal.

He sighed as he rubbed his forehead, wondering what he would do with all these new emotions. '_This is not like me at all… hopefully I can explain what's going on with me before I actually do something embarrassing, having to explain myself under those circumstances,'_ Tai thought with a groan. He plastered a smile on his face, walked up to Ken and congratulated him even though his mind still wandered.

Sora then said, "Why don't you all come in for a bit? I'm sure mom won't mind the company." She handed Ken the neatly wrapped flowers, wiped the counter clean and closed up the store for lunch. Locking the front door, she led the group to the back of the shop and opened the back door, which led to her apartment building. The group of five took a flight of stairs, then walked along a narrow hallway and then stopped in front of Sora's apartment door. She turned the doorknob, finding it unlocked and let herself and her friends in.

"Mom, we're back," she announced as her mom came in with a plate full of refreshments.

"Hello kids," she greeted as she placed the snacks on the dining table.

"Hi," Sora's dad greeted as he came down the stairs, brushing a hand through his hair as he tried to flatten the unruly hair.

"Dad!" Sora exclaimed as she ran up to her dad and gave him a big hug.

"Hey Sora," he said as he patted her briefly on the back.

"How are you?" she asked as she stepped away from her dad, to give him some room. He looked into the mirror near by and straightened his necktie.

"I'm fine." Glancing at his wristwatch, he quickly mentioned, "I have to go now sweety. Apparently a couple of my undergrad students ran into a couple of problems and I have to go to the university for a short while. I should be back by tonight," as he placed a quick kiss on the top of his daughter's head.

"Oh."

"Well, enjoy your meal you guys," the older man, said with a smile and nod as he grabbed his briefcase and slipped into his shoes.

"You won't join us for lunch Mr. Takenouchi?" Tai asked.

"Sorry Tai; I had lunch before you guys came in. But I'll be glad to join you guys on a later day," he said as he opened the front door. "Nice meeting all of you," he added before he walked out of the door and closed it behind him.

Sora sighed and came back to the dining table, standing next to Tai. Tai slipped a hand behind her back and gently rubbed her back a couple of times in a consoling manner before dropping it back to his side. He knew how Sora didn't get to see her dad that often because he worked at Kyoto university most of the time, but compared to when she was younger, her dad made sure to spend more time with her in the recent years.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Lunch is served," Sora grinned as she took a seat at the table, smiling at her mom in thanks. The rest of her friends joined her and started digging in, the digimon eating almost twice as much as the humans.

"Easy there Agumon, you're going to choke on your food!" Tai exclaimed as he saw the small digimon stuffing his face full of food. The yellow critter even tried to make a swipe at Tai's plate, for the slices of meat on his plate. Tai pulled his plate back roughly, saying, "nope… don't even try it Agumon." Everyone laughed at that as Tai glared at his guilty looking friend.

Soon, the topic moved on to the digital world and T.K. and Ken asked Tai how he was, what happened to him and everything.

"I'm fine now… apparently, some digimon attacked me from behind, but luckily Piximon was there to take me to Gennai's place. Sora and I are currently training with Piximon in his coliseum," Tai announced.

"Really?" Ken asked, a tone of awe in his voice.

"I wonder if he could train us," T.K. contemplated over a bowl of rice.

"Hah, funny you should say that. Kari said the exact same thing," Tai laughed. "But I'm sure Piximon will be more than willing to train you guys," Tai said.

"And even if you guys don't want to be trained, feel free to stop by anytime to visit us," Sora told them. "It can get very lonely with just this annoying and childish guy with me," she joked as she pointed her chopsticks in Tai's direction.

"Hey! I'm not that annoying!" Tai said as he playfully glared back at Sora as his foot gently rubbed against her own, his toes running the length of her calf. Sora glared at him as she tried to force his foot back towards him. He just grinned at her in response.

"We'll make sure to stop by sometime," T.K. nodded. "I think I'll take up that offer of getting trained actually… maybe sometime early next week. I want to enjoy my break for a little bit before rushing into training," he said as he brushed his blonde hair to the side. Kari and Ken nodded in agreement.

"Great! So we can expect to see you in a week, maybe earlier than that if you guys decide to stop by for a visit," Sora said, clapping her hands together. "You can also inform the other digidestined if you would like to, and feel free to let them know they can stop by as well and say hello."

So with the time shift in the digital world, a week here would mean two weeks there.

Sora got up after everyone was finished with lunch and cleared off the table. Kari helped her gather the dishes and took them to the kitchen. "Thanks Kari."

Kari nodded as they walked back to the table. The five of them, as well as the digimon, talked about random things until they ran out of things to talk about. Getting up from the table, Ken decided that he should get going, reminding himself to call Yolie and ask her if their dinner plans were still on for tonight.

"Thanks for lunch Sora. I really appreciate it. I should probably get going now. I still have to call Yolie and have to get a couple of other things done," Ken said as he bowed down slightly in respect, thanking Sora for the meal. Sora smiled and stood up.

"You're always welcome here Ken, don't forget that," she said as she got Ken's flowers for him and handed them back to the blushing teen.

"Thank you," he said once again as he slipped his shoes back on and let himself out of the apartment.

Glancing at the clock near the kitchen wall, Sora saw that they only had about half an hour or so left before Tai and herself had to head back. "So what do you guys want to do for the next half hour or so?" the red haired girl asked as she walked back to the dining table. She suddenly remembered that Kari was taking a photography class and decided to ask her about that.

"I almost forgot, your taking a photography class right?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but it will end at the end of this week," she replied.

"How is it?"

"It's not that bad. I enjoy it, though I can't say the same for some other people in my class," the brown haired girl muttered darkly under her breath as she thought back to the few disturbing class members. Sora giggled as Kari and T.K. told her about the class and it's members.

"So what have you been up to T.K.?" she turned her gaze onto the blonde.

"Nothing much, just chilling. I have been meeting up with the basketball team that I will be joining once school starts again and have practiced with them a couple of times. No need to worry if I'll make the team or not, I know I definitely will," T.K. said as he stuck out his chest with pride. Sora smiled and ruffled his hair a bit in an affectionate way.

"Glad to hear it."

T.K. and Kari continued to talk about their weeks off, and their plans for the new school year. A good forty-five minutes later, Tai gave a small cough and pointed to the clock.

"Oh!" Sora said as she got onto her feet. "We should probably get going then," she nodded towards Tai. "Piximon would like us back before nightfall, since he wakes us up so early in the morning, he wants to make sure we're there when he wakes us up," Sora said as she shot an apologetic smile towards the younger teens.

"It's okay Sora. I'll catch up with you later then," Kari said as she gave her brother and Sora a quick hug. T.K. did the same and then walked to the apartment door with Kari and Gatomon behind him.

Tai felt that same funny feeling rising in him once again when he saw the younger blonde hugging Sora. But the feeling wasn't as intense as it was when Ken decided to hug her. He thought of T.K. as a younger brother, who pinned after his sister, so he didn't see T.K. as much of a threat, just another family member… his heart trying to convince his digimon side of that. He watched as his sister and T.K. got ready to leave the apartment.

"Kari, just to let you know, we'll stop back here if we have time, if not, then we'll be staying in the digital world for the rest of the week until you guys decided to join us. Stop by sometime," he hollered to her as Kari nodded, her brown eyes catching her brothers. Then the younger kids let themselves out, closing the door with a soft 'click.'

"Let's get going then, shall we?" he said as he offered Sora his arm. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to her room, the computer coming to life with a soft hum. As soon as the digital port was up and running, Sora went to find her mom, said a quick good bye with a hug, informed her mom that she might be staying in the digital world for a week or two and then joined Tai and the digimon. Sora pointed her glowing digivice towards the computer screen and once again, they found themselves back in their room in Piximon's coliseum.

"Well, we're back," Agumon groaned as Biyomon landed on top of him with a loud squawk. He rubbed his small ears, Biyomon accidentally yelling right into his ears. Poor guy.

Sora looked at the digivice in her hands, the screen glowing brightly in the dark for a couple of moments, before the light slowly died down to a soft glow. She looked at it and saw that it showed the digital world time now. "9:30 pm" was flashing at her. "Wow, did we actually stay there for that long?" she muttered to herself.

"What is it?" Tai asked as he helped Sora to her feet.

"We were in the real world for longer than I thought… it's half an hour to ten," she said as she gave a small yawn. That suddenly made Tai yawn as well as he laughed.

"I guess that work out this morning really took a toll on my body," he mentioned as he walked out into the hallway. "I'm going to find Piximon and let him know we're back. I'll be back in a bit," he said as he walked out of the room and down a couple flights of stairs, lost in his own thoughts.

Meanwhile, Sora decided to change into her nightclothes seeing as they didn't have to bother going down for dinner anymore because it was past their dinnertime, and they had a quick lunch in the real world so they weren't hungry. Sora came out of the bathroom, her folded clothes in hand, as she wore a dark red tank top and a pair of black shorts that reached mid thigh. As she placed her clothes in the drawer and slid it closed, Tai opened the door and came in, looking as if he ran the whole way back.

"That was quick," Sora commented as she looked up from where she was standing.

Tai took in a couple of deep breaths and waited until his breathing was back to normal, to speak again. "Yeah, I ended up running around the whole coliseum, looking for the pink fur ball. Guess where I found him? Outside on the beach, near the entrance," Tai complained as he threw himself down onto his futon, landing next to a somewhat sleepy Agumon. Biyomon was fast asleep in her perch above the futons as she slept quietly.

"Poor Tai," Sora laughed as she sat down next to him. Getting up with a grunt, Tai walked over to the dresser and picked up the silk night pants that he had thrown in his haste earlier. He peeled off his black shirt and slipped out of his jeans and slid the silk pants on and then fell down onto the futon with a loud THUMP. Agumon complained silently as he was trying to sleep.

"Sorry Agumon," the brown haired boy muttered as he felt the cool futon underneath his back. For once, he was thankful that the room had stonewalls to make the room a little cooler than the usual carpeted room. After a couple minutes of silence, Tai could hear Sora pull up a bed sheet over herself as she lay down next to him on her bed. He listened to the quiet noises of the night; easily hearing Biyomon and Agumon's light and steady heart beats indicating that they both were fast asleep.

Turning over onto his side, Tai scooted over a bit to his left and looked at Sora. She flashed him a small smile as she moved over next to him and felt his arm wrap around her waist. "Oh," she said suddenly, remembering to tell Tai that he didn't have training tomorrow morning. Tai raised an eyebrow in question and looked at her.

"I just remembered… I was going to tell you earlier, but it slipped my mind. You don't have training tomorrow morning. Piximon decided to give you the day off," Sora whispered to him.

"I know."

"You do? How?"

"Piximon told me when I found him. But he told me I didn't have the whole day off. In the afternoon, while he trains you, he wants me to be able to find a way to manipulate my digimon powers, to call them when I need them," Tai whispered back, as he pulled Sora's body against his, feeling her body heat radiating against his.

Sora felt Tai pull her a little closer towards him so she was now pressed up against Tai's body, as she nodded her head, indicating that she heard what he said. She could feel his soft breath against her face as she raised a finger to brush a couple strands of brown hair away from his eyes. She then ran her hand through his hair and down his neck, back up to his face, where it rested against the corner of his mouth.

She stared at his lips as she let on of her fingers trace his soft lips, pressing the pad of her fingertip ever so gently against his bottom lip. She looked back up into his eyes, his eyes now a dark brown, almost black. She suddenly felt a soft, wet substance touch her finger and looked down in time to see Tai slowly letting his tongue lick the tip of her finger. She felt the heat rush to her face as he continued to lick her finger, his teeth grazing over her hand.

Taking her hand in his, he led her hand down to his waist and placed it around him as he leaned over and brushed his lips against hers so softly, that she barely even felt it. He pressed down a little harder this time, catching her lips with his as both their eyes slowly closed, their minds, bodies and souls relishing the moment.

Sora let out a soft moan as she felt Tai's tongue rub against her own in a teasing manner. His hands, as they ran across her body, left hot trails of fire and electricity behind them as they grazed past her skin. He dropped his hands a little lower so he was now holding one of her legs as he gently pulled it over his own, pulling her a little closer. Sora, not wanting to let Tai take all the credit, let her hands run themselves up and down his chest as her fingernails gently grazed his skin. She could feel the taut muscles moving under his skin as he gently moved against her. Pulling away reluctantly, to take a breath, she felt Tai moving his lips onto her neck as he gently nipped and licked the skin near her pulse point. She let out a slight gasp as her heart beat increased. He moved a little lower, his teeth grazing over her shoulder as his kissed his way to her collarbone.

Tai felt Sora shudder underneath his ministrations as she let out a soft gasp when he gently nipped her neck near her pulse. He could feel her neck throbbing underneath his lips as he slowly moved down to her collarbone. Her hands ran up and down his chest, letting her fingernails scrape his skin in a salacious manner. He felt her move her hands to his shoulders, briefly massaging them. He felt himself moaning as he stopped what he was doing and let her continue.

"Roll over," she whispered into his ear, her soft breath tickling him. He jerked his head back at the noise and then realized it was only Sora who said that. He nodded and then rolled onto his back as he let go of her waist. "The other way, silly," she laughed softly as she untangled her legs from his. He let out a soft grunt as he lifted himself by his elbows and laid down on his chest. He turned his head to the side so he could look at the girl next to him and brought his hands to his head, his arms bending at the elbow. Sora laid her hands on his shoulders and leaned down, her chest pressed upon his as her lips pressed against his ear. _"Relax, Tai." _She lifted herself off his back and slowly started to move her hands along his shoulders, in strong, slow circular motions, easing out the tension from the tight muscles.

Tai closed his eyes as sweet sensations rolled over his body, Sora's magical hands trailing over him. He let out a soft moan as he relaxed under her touch. He felt his breathing becoming shallower, sleep coming to him much easier than he thought, as he felt his mind closing on him. As Sora's hands continued to massage his back, her hands going lower and lower with each passing minute, he felt his senses going haywire, his mind slowly shutting down as the darkness claimed him.

Sora rolled the pads of her fingers over Tai's shoulder blades, massaging the particular spot where his wings cut through his back. She heard him moaning in pleasure as he closed his eyes. After about five or ten minutes, she heard his rhythmic breathing, indicating that he was fast asleep. She smiled and continued massaging his back, not feeling as tired as Tai. Plus she enjoyed watching her hands run over his golden brown skin, as the muscles relaxed under her touch. She felt that she had a slight power over him, could bend him and make him feel such passion just like he could bring in her. She just didn't want to receive, but wanted to give back, making Tai ache for her just like he made her ache for him.

Once she was positive that the muscles in his back was completely relaxed and limp, and he was sound asleep, she lifted herself off his back and rolled onto her futon, covering herself as well as Tai with their respective blankets. She pooled the brown haired boy's blanked by his thighs, so it would be in arms reach if he felt cold. She snuggled into the futon, turning to her side so she could look at her friend's serene face before she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her too.

-----

The next morning, Sora blinked her eyes open slowly as she covered a yawn with her hand. She groaned and rolled over as she snuggled closer to the source of warmth next to her, feathers ruffling against her. She let out a soft '_Mmmm'_ and smiled, letting her face rub up against the soft feathers. "Biyomon," she mumbled lightly, her mind full of sleep.

"Close but no cigar," a soft voice whispered through the feathers. Apparently the words didn't register into her head as she sighed and just moved closer to the warm body next to her. She heard a soft chuckle that sounded a lot like rumbling to her, as a soft feather glazed over her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand, mumbling for Biyomon to stop moving. She heard the rumbling sound again and in the back of her mind, wondered why Biyomon sounded like she was choking on something, but it took much trouble to think about and knew that Tai and Agumon were next to her so they could look after her digimon.

The feather lightly brushed against her lips this time, Sora frowning as she slapped the feather away, her eyes still closed. The feather came back to tease her lips once more and she growled as it passed the corner of her mouth. As it was making it's third pass over, Sora had enough and opened her mouth and bit down on the soft feather, her eyes opening when she heard a sharp yell.

Sora's red eyes widened in shock as she looked at the boy laying next to her, as she slowly released the feather from her mouth, too shocked to speak. "Guess I shouldn't have gone over that last time, huh?" Tai chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and gently kissed her lips as a way to say good morning to her.

"It was you then?" Sora asked shakily as she lifted her hand to take a look at Tai's wings. "How…"

"I don't know… I woke up like this… weird huh? Hah. I guess your massage really helped and I felt that my wings needed a small stretch," he laughed. Sora ran a hand over the now crumpled and wet feather, as her eyes swarmed with sorrow.

"Sorry about that," she whispered as she rubbed her fingers against the broken feathers.

"Don't worry about it… they're going to fall off sooner or later anyways," Tai shrugged as he stretched his right wing out and wrapped is around Sora, both of them enclosed in a blanket of white. Sora's eyes lightened up as she ran her hand on the underside of his wings, relishing in the soft feeling, a small smile gracing her face.

Her hands stopped as they came in contact with his back, his shoulder blades to be exact, and she then continued to run her hands up his back and wrapped her arm his neck as she lightly grazed his skull with her nails.

He leaned back into her touch, enjoying the feeling. He opened his eyes suddenly, his ears picking up another sound in the room. His eyes darted back and forth as Sora stopped moving and asked, "what is it?"

"They're starting to wake," Tai said as he gave her a quick kiss, before pulling away from her. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to satisfy Sora as she pulled his head back towards him and captured his lips in a fierce embrace with her own as she gently sucked on his lower lip. After she decided that she had teased him long enough, she pulled back and rolled out from under his wing.

"That was for what you did yesterday, and you didn't give me a proper kiss this morning," she told him as she poked him in the chest with her forefinger and grinned. He just snorted in response and sat up as he focused on retreating his wings. A moment later, there was a soft glow as it rained down white feathers for a couple of minutes.

Agumon blinked his eyes open as he woke up to the most interesting sight. White feathers were piled up on his head and around him, tickling his nose as they fell from the ceiling. He let out a sneeze as he blew the feather away from his nose. Then another one landed on his snout. He sneezed again. "I think I'm allergic to feathers," he muttered as he sat up, brushing the feathers off the top of his head.

"Oooh! Feathers!" Biyomon yelled as soon as she was awake, flying around, trying to catch them with her beak. Tai and Sora laughed at the sight in front of them.

"I think I'll go shower now," Sora said after a while as she leaned over and gave Tai a quick kiss on the cheek when she made sure the two digimon weren't glancing their way.

"Can I join you?" Tai joked as a sly smile crept over his face, his eyes glinting dangerously. Sora blushed and her eyes widened.

"Don't even think about it Kamiya," she growled out as she glared at him. "Hum...I should ask Piximon to put a couple more bolts on the door," she added as an afterthought, her face taking on a contemplating look.

Tai sighed in defeat as he watched her walk over to the dresser, grab a couple of things and walk into the bathroom to shower. '_It's almost like playing house,'_ Tai chuckled.

Tai leaned back down onto his futon as he placed his hands behind his head as he let his mind wander over the previous day. '_So much has happened in such a short period of time,'_ Tai mused. '_I think I may have moved a little too fast but Sora hasn't given any indication for me to stop… maybe she's afraid to tell me?'_ Deciding to ask her about it when she came out, he continued on with his recapping of the previous day, a frown appearing on his face as he thought back to how he felt around Ken and T.K.

'_I shouldn't have reacted like that… if Ken or T.K. heard me, I don't know what I would have done to defend myself… Oh yes! You're hitting on my girlfriend, now stay away!… yea, that will work really well,'_ Tai laughed under his breath. '_Wait… girlfriend? Is that how I see her now?'_ His mind brought up a bunch of pictures of the redhead over the previous few days. '_I should ask her what we are now… friends with benefits? That sounds like I'm using her or something…'_ Tai shook his head and waited patiently for Sora to make her appearance in the room once again. He heard the shower slowly coming to a stop, water dripping off the showerhead, as Sora got dressed.

Sora quickly slipped into some clean clothes and ran a towel through her hair as she got most of the water out. She placed it around her neck, seeing as water was still dripping off the ends of her hair and she then walked out of the bathroom. "It's all yours now," she told Tai as she rummaged through the dresser for a hairbrush.

"Sora, I was wondering…" he started as he walked over to her side.

"Hum?"

Glancing back at the digimon once again, Tai saw that they were busy enough so they wouldn't pay much attention to the two teenagers in front of them. "Um…" he started as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "Do you think we're going kind of fast? I mean… not that I'm uncomfortable or anything, but I was wondering if it bothered you or something…" Tai trailed off.

Placing the brush on the dresser, Sora turned around and smiled. She placed a hand on his cheek, gently caressing it. "That's so sweet Tai," she gushed. "Don't worry. If there is anything bothering me, you'll be the first one to know," she said as she dropped her hand to her side. "And no, I don't think we're moving too fast… just as long as we keep it to kissing for a while, and nothing more, then I'm fine…"

She saw the hesitant look in his eyes and added, "Look, both of us have had a boyfriend/girlfriend in the past, if even for a short while. We both have deeper feelings than friendship towards one another, and have kissed someone else before. So it's nothing that is _shocking_ to either of us, or at least, it's not like we have to be shy around each other, walking on our toes all the time. I've known you since childhood Tai, and I feel _completely_ safe with you; I _trust_ you and know that you won't do anything to hurt me, so I don't mind one bit. And I know you won't take advantage of me either… or at least you'll be a gentleman and ask before you do," she said, having an imp like grin on her face. Tai nodded, taking it all in.

Then he asked another question. "So, what exactly are we? I mean… are we…" he gulped.

Sora sighed as she rested against the dresser behind her. "I'm not sure frankly. I guess boyfriend and girlfriend, if you would like to be mine." She looked hopeful as she gazed into his eyes.

"Of course!" Tai immediately replied.

Smiling, Sora warned him, "I won't say _'I love you'_ right off the bat, to tell you the truth… even though I definitely have deeper feelings for you. I used to have a huge crush on you when we were younger," Sora blushed as she looked at the ground. "I know that my feelings for you, as I'm slowly realizing them now, are probably much deeper than what I thought I had for Matt. I knew I loved him, but I soon found out that it was close to bordering a brotherly kind of love as he sort of looked after me for a couple of years…" She placed a warm hand on Tai's arm and looked him in the eye. "As soon as I know what I feel for you, love and all, I will let you know. I think we should just keep at this for a while, see where it takes us, and just take it day by day. What do you say?" she asked the brown haired teen.

Tai nodded, completely agreeing. He knew his feelings bordered on the edge of love and lust for her, leaning more towards love, but he agreed with the idea that they just check it out for a couple of weeks, see if it really is love, and then take it from there. "I think this will actually work out," Tai said.

"Hum?" the redhead asked as she turned back towards the mirror and picked up her brush.

"I was just thinking how it feels like we're playing house or something, with us in the same room, for pretty much a whole month… but this way, we'll know each other inside and out, and see if we can actually live with one another!" he said with a smile.

Sora rolled her eyes and pushed him towards the bathroom. "I don't think I can live with you if you don't take a bath on a daily basis," she chuckled as he dodged her pushy hands, went to his duffle bag, got a clean pair of clothes and then walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"Sora," Biyomon started to whine. "Do you think we could head down to breakfast now?" she asked as Agumon's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Sure guys. I just have to dry my hair. I'll be down as soon as it's dry," she said. The two digimon rushed out the door, fighting each other down to the kitchens as they raced against one another.

Once Tai came out, dressed in a blue silk shirt, a couple of buttons undone at the top, and a pair of black jeans, Sora walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck grinning. She caught a whiff of cologne he was wearing and she said, "Someone smells good… what's the occasion?"

Tai grinned back and said, "Nothing much, just that I decided on taking my beautiful girlfriend down to the beach for some quality time."

"Really?" she asked as she kissed him lightly on the lips as she ran a finger down his neck, across his collarbone, down his chest until her finger caught his shirt again.

"Um hum…" Tai voiced out from the back of his throat, his chest humming pleasantly as Sora placed her head against his shoulder for a brief moment as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down to catch her lips again but was broken from his reverie as a loud knock interrupted them. Startled, they jumped apart as Tai frowned, sniffing the air slightly. He caught Mimi's scent wafting through the bottom of the door, across the floor as it made it's way to his nose. "Mimi," he whispered to Sora. She nodded and straightened her pale pink shirt.

Sora walked to the door, slightly frustrated that Mimi interrupted, but at the same time, was glad that Mimi came to visit them in the digital world. She opened the door with a wide grin on her face, hugging the girl as the squealing girl hugged her back as she jumped up and down. Smiling, Tai came up behind Sora and greeted Mimi as well.

"Hey Mimi. See you haven't changed a bit," he greeted with a soft smile.

"Tai? Wow… you've gotten a little taller… and sexier," she added the last part under her breath as she gave Tai the once-over. Both Tai and Sora heard her, Sora starting to fume, Tai starting to blush.

Sora surreptitiously pinched Tai on the arm and whispered, "don't let it get to your head, Kamiya." He rolled his eyes, knowing he only had eyes for the redhead, but nodded and smiled back anyways.

'_Plus, pink isn't my color exactly,'_ he thought as he wondered when the girl would change her hair color.

The three of them soon found themselves accompanying their digimon around a dining table fill with various foods.

"So how did you find us here, Mimi?" Tai asked as he shoveled a bit of rice into his mouth and swallowed.

"I heard from Sora earlier today… well, it would be yesterday for you guys, that you two were getting trained by Piximon. She also told me what you guys thought might be happening with the digital world," she told her friend as she looked over at Sora for confirmation. Sora nodded slightly and continued eating her breakfast.

As the morning went by, Mimi, Sora and Tai found themselves wandering around Piximon's coliseum, talking about random things that came to mind. Tai left briefly to find the digimon and Mimi took that as a sign and attacked Sora with a ton of questions and gossip.

"So… what's going on with you and Tai?" Mimi asked, trying to give her best pleading look, trying to get Sora to give into her charms.

"Nothing! Why?" Sora said as calmly as she could, her emotions hiding behind a neat mask of indifference. "And I just broke up with Matt, too," she added for effect.

"You think I actually buy that, Sora? Come on, I know you better than that!" Mimi exclaimed as she took a seat on the bench stadium, pulling Sora down next to her. "You've been constantly updating me on how you and Matt are, and I know your relationship was very shaky a long time ago. Now spill!"

"What? There's nothing to tell!" Sora pressed on, hoping Mimi would buy it.

Sighing, Mimi tried a couple more times and decided that she would not get an answer out of Sora at this point in time.

"But I do have to say, he looks hot! If I didn't have a feeling that you liked him and if I wasn't aware that he is head over heels in love with you, I would go after him myself!" Mimi said, winking at Sora. Sora blushed brightly.

_Head over heels in love with me? I wonder._ Sora shook her head at her friend's wild comments. "Mimi, America has definitely changed you…" she stated firmly. "For better or worse, I'm not quite sure… but I still love you anyways," Sora added as an afterthought, chuckling.

"Aww!" the pink haired girl cried as she threw her arms around Sora and gave her half a hug. '_Well, the girl didn't deny she likes him,'_ Mimi snickered to herself. "Well, I'll bother you about Tai another day," the girl started as she went on talking about her friends and a cute guy she met. As she droned on, Sora phasing in and out, Tai finally caught up to the rowdy digimon and brought them back to where Mimi and Sora were seated.

"Hey girls," he waved as he came into view. Mimi stopped speaking mid sentence, and suddenly threw herself at Tai.

"Tai! We were talking about you!" she drawled on, winking.

"Uhh…"

Mimi stepped back and giggled at his lost expression. Sora just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "So where do you guys want to go now?" Sora asked as she glanced at her watch. "It's close to 11 am. I figure Piximon wants us back around 2 or 3 pm," Sora assumed. Mimi nodded.

"We could go around the digital world… visit a couple of old places," Tai said shrugging.

"Ooh, we can visit the Gekomon again! And Tai can sing for us!" Mimi laughed, remembering Tai's horrible singing.

"Ugh, no thanks Tai," Sora stated, cringing at the thought of her boyfriend singing. "I don't think I even want to know how you sound…"

"Hey!" he automatically reprimanded for the low blow to his pride.

"Let's get going!" Agumon said as he jumped up and down in excitement. The three teens looked at one another and then nodded.

"Okay. How do we get to ShogunGekomon's castle from here, Mimi?" Tai asked as they walked along the beach that lead to Piximon's front door.

"I have no clue," Mimi stated cheerfully as she let the water run over her bare feet. She held her white sandals in her hand as she ran along the beach.

"Mimi…" Tai groaned as he slapped a hand to his forehead. All of a sudden, he felt a couple of cold water droplets landing all over him. "Huh?" he asked, startled, as cold water dripped down his chest, giving his blue shirt a slightly damp look. He looked over to his right and found Sora grinning impishly as she looked the other way and whistled.

"It was you, huh!" Tai stated it as if he were talking about the weather, as he lightly splashed Sora back, not wanting to get her too wet. She screamed lightly as the cold water came in contact with her bare legs as she glared at Tai. "You started it!" he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head back, challenging her. His expression on his face asked her 'what are you going to do about it, huh?' as he had a smug look on him.

Sora growled at him as she continued to glare and walk way from him, ignoring his gloating. Tai chuckled and ran to her side, Mimi a few feet ahead of them, splashing Palmon with water. "You know you still love me no matter what!" Tai whispered, grinning. Sora rolled her eyes as she tried to push him into the water. The brown haired boy, now standing on only one foot, in the water, tried frantically to regain his balance, his arms flailing in every possible direction. Luckily Agumon came to his rescue, pushing him up right again.

Once they made it through Piximon's barrier, they found themselves back on the hot desert ground. "Um," Sora started, as the portal closed behind her. "How are we going to find this place again if only Piximon can open it?" she asked.

"We'll figure something out when we get back," Tai quickly said as he placed his hands behind his head and started walking in one direction.

"Um, Tai, we'll have to ask directions to the Gekomon's castle," Mimi said as she saw Tai walking away.

"Oh yea…" Quickly stopping a digimon that crossed their path, he asked, "Do you know which way to go to get to ShogunGekomon's castle?" The digimon looked at him as if he had just grown five heads… the poor digimon had never seen a human before, and scrambled away before Tai could finish his question.

"At least he's willing enough to stop and ask directions!" Mimi giggled.

"Yeah but he scares off anyone he stops!" Sora laughed with her. Tai glared back at the two giggling girls and found another digimon that was wandering around in the desert heat.

"Hey you!" he screamed out to the wandering digimon. As the digimon came into view, they all gasped at whom they found.

"Ogremon!" Mimi said as she ran up and hugged their green friend. Soon, another digimon followed Ogremon, coming into view as well.

"Leomon?" Tai asked, wondering what the two were doing in the middle of the desert, let alone walking together. Leomon nodded and greeted the six of them.

"How are you guys?" Sora asked as she clasped her hands together behind her back.

Leomon nodded and told them of their current situation. "You guys are probably wondering why we aren't going at each other's throats," Ogremon snorted.

"We realized that this new threat is going to take all of us working together to get rid of this monstrosity, so we've decided to work together until the threat is taken care of. We're looking for possessed digimon so we can get rid of them," Leomon said in a gruff voice. Changing the subject, he asked, "Where are you all headed?"

"We're trying to get to the Gekomon Castle, but don't know how to get there," Palmon said.

"Oh. It's going to take a while to get there on foot, so I say fly there. It should take about ten minutes flying. Head in that direction," Leomon said as he pointed a thumb behind his shoulder. "You should find the massive castle right near the big body of water you'll pass. Can't miss it."

"Thanks Leomon," Sora thanked as Leomon and Ogremon said quick goodbyes and continued on their way. "Well, you heard them Biyomon!" Sora said as she took her digivice out of her shorts pocket. Biyomon nodded and digivolved.

"Biyomon digivolve to… Birdramon!" she said as she let out a loud screech as she stood proudly.

"Okay guys, climb on," the redhead said as she ushered everyone on. Tai and the two digimon took one leg and Mimi and Sora took the other. Birdramon took off, carefully carrying her passengers to the castle up ahead.

"Mimi!" the Gekomon greeted when she came into view.

"Hi guys!" Mimi yelled as she ran over to the small frog-like digimon who had trumpets around their necks.

"ShogunGekomon's been asking about you," one of the Gekomon told her as he dragged her and her friends into the castle.

"Mimi!" the big digimon greeted as he sat on his throne. After exchanging a couple of pleasantries, the Gekomon took the small group to another part of the castle where they could relax. Mimi and Sora immediately went for the hot springs, Mimi's clothes flying off as soon as her feet touched the cold tiles of the changing room.

Meanwhile, Tai went back downstairs, after looking around the new wing that he was brought to, and went to the throne room to talk to ShogunGekomon.

"Hi," Tai said lightly, as he came into view.

"Taichi. What can I do for you?" the large digimon in front of him asked.

"I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this new threat that the digital world has encountered," Tai asked, his facial features becoming serious as he stared back at the digimon, not breaking eye contact.

ShogunGekomon nodded gravely and told Tai what he has heard. "The digital world is very large, so I do not know everything that goes on, but I can tell you I've heard some nasty rumors going on about his movements. I have no idea who this leader is, but he has a large influence over the digital world and has probably taken over a good portion of the digital world as it is. I heard that Lady Devimon and Devimon stopped by Gennai's house and it wasn't a pleasant sight."

"What! When did this happen?" Tai demanded, fury filling his veins.

"About three to four days ago. Don't worry, Gennai is fine, but his house is not. He managed to escape from his house before they came crashing in. They ripped the place apart. I've sent some of my Geko's to help Gennai out. In these troubled times, we have to stick together…" Tai nodded to that.

'_So they must have been after Sora or me. That happened as soon as we left with Piximon. No wonder Gennai sent us off so quickly…'_ Tai gulped, feeling a little bad that he brought such destruction to Gennai.

"The evil digimon's movements have been very quiet for the past couple of days… he might be planning something big," ShogunGekomon said, interrupting Tai's thoughts. Tai sighed.

"I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for Devimon and LadyDevimon," Tai groaned. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, the two girls came back into view of the throne room, chatting amicably between the two of them.

After glancing at Tai and seeing the grave look on his face, Sora asked, "What's wrong Tai?"

"Gennai's was attacked as soon as we left with Piximon. Gennai's fine, but his house is totaled," Tai informed them. Mimi gasped. "Devimon and LadyDevimon are looking for us," Tai told Sora.

"How come they haven't found us at Piximon's?" Sora asked.

"That's probably because Piximon's portal is in a slightly different dimension, and isn't visible, making you two very hard to find," ShogunGekomon answered. "I think you two should get back to his place if you are safer there then. I don't mind helping you guys in your fight, if it means saving your asses, but I don't want you three to get hurt before you're ready," the digimon said with a caring voice.

"Okay then…" Mimi sighed.

"I have a digital port available in the next room down to the right," ShogunGekomon said as a couple of Gekomon came into view when the big digimon snapped his fingers.

"We could take that too, but the computer in the room is turned off, Tai," Sora remembered.

With a couple of goodbyes exchanged, Mimi was led to the room to take her leave.

"Sorry we can't spend more time with you, Mimi," Sora apologized as their fun was cut a little short. "Plus, it's almost time that we head back to Piximon's anyways." Mimi nodded. "By the way, T.K., Kari and Ken are planning on coming early next week… well, two weeks would have passed here… to get trained by Piximon. I'm not sure if they've informed the rest of the digidestined, but if you want to join us, then feel free," Sora added before Mimi turned to leave.

"Thanks, I think I will. Don't worry, I'm going to help out with this fight, you can count me in!" Mimi said with a smile as Palmon joined her side. Sora smiled back as she watched her pink haired friend leave.

"Thank you for your hospitality ShogunGekomon," Tai thanked him as he bowed down slightly. "We should get going too," he said to the other three companions.

"Stay safe," the Gekomon said as they led the three outside again. Tai nodded briefly before he got onto the now digivolved Birdramon, Agumon climbing up after him. Birdramon flew as fast as she could back to the desert grounds. She landed softly on the ground and allowed her passengers to climb off before devolving.

"Now how do we get in?" Sora asked as she walked around the desert aimlessly. "We don't even know where the door is…"

"Yes we do," Tai stated as he pointed to the small digimon that was flying their way.

"Piximon!" Sora commented as her eyes widened slightly.

"I have a couple of cameras around the deserts, so I know all that goes on around my portal," Piximon claimed as he waved his staff and the door to his mansion appeared. "Well, don't stand there all day, come on!"

The four of them scampered back in and the portal closed behind them.

"I'm pretty sure that the one's who are after you know where you are, but they don't know where to find us, since this place is uncharitable," Piximon said with pride as he looked back at the two teenagers. "Well, let's start your training as soon as you get changed, Sora."

The digimon and Sora found themselves panting as they finally made it back to their room, Sora cursing those evil stairs of Piximon's to the seventh hell. "Why the hell does have to have those long-ass stairs anyways?" she grumbled as she went into the bathroom and found a new set of training clothes for her, laying next to the sink. She closed the door with a slam and changed into the white sleeveless shirt and shorts. She found the bathroom and the rest of the room to be cleaned spotless, any clothes of Tai's that was strewn around, was folded neatly in the corner. _Looks like maid service stopped by today._

Sora walked out and grabbed her sneakers, slipping them onto her feet. Tai changed his clothes into something more comfortable and training-like and now wore a thin black shirt that had a weird logo on it and gray sweatpants. "Ready to go?" he asked and they made their way down to the coliseum grounds were their digimon and Piximon were waiting for them.

"Let's get started then. I want both of you to run three laps around the grounds and then stretch out your muscles," he commanded as they followed his instructions. Sora was a little less tired than she was the previous day, and found that she still had a little bit of energy to make another lap around. Meanwhile, Tai was running circles around her and he didn't even break a sweat as they came back towards Piximon.

Sora glared at the back to Tai's head, wondering why he got the super human strength and stamina and everything else. But she immediately regretted thinking that way, remembering all the pain Tai had to go through for the past couple of weeks to end up where he was.

Once they stretched, Piximon said, "Tai, I want you to sit in the far corner over there, a little ways from the wall, and want you to focus on bringing out your digimon side once again. I want you to remember all that you felt during your transformation and bring it back out. Once you've fully transformed, I want you to try to change back to your regular self.

Then, I want you to try bringing only one change out. For example, you should be able to change your hands into claws and change back within a matter of a few seconds. You should have complete power over your changes and by the end of the day, you should not let your emotions take over to the point where you are in rage, and then only do you transform," Piximon said. "It doesn't matter which of these you try first… you may find it easier to bring your digimon side out in small pieces, and then transform fully. That is fine, but I want you to try to get a hold of you powers before tonight." He dismissed Tai and then turned his attention onto Sora.

"We will continue with the same exercises from yesterday, dodging, rolling, the whole deal," he told her as he got ready to release his first attack. Sora nodded and got into a ready position.

Tai made his way over to the corner, sighing. _This is going to be a long afternoon._ Tai groaned.

* * *

**Authors Note: **Wow… the longest chapter yet! Okay, sorry to give you guys major cavities with all the fluff in this chapter but there will be more action next chapter. School's out and I'm looking forward to getting started on the next chapter. Pretty much everything is set into place and the story will start rolling really soon.

I've been thinking if I should up the rating on this story or not… seeing as Tai and Sora will be spending pretty much close to a month in close proximity, something is bound to happen… but I guess I can hold my fingers back and let them take it slow… I think i've been reading way too many Kenshin and Inuyasha fics lately. Haha.

Let me know if the story flows, if I've taken things too fast or if the pacing is fine as it is.

Thanks for reading and make sure you review! Your comments are greatly appreciated!

I'm also looking for a Beta reader… if any of you are willing! By the way, I have a yahoogroup where i've posted the chapters so far. I will also be posting up finished portions of the next chapter or future chapters on a weekly basis, so check it out.

**:Runs off to get started on the next chapter: **I should hopefully have it out by the end of next week if all goes well!


	13. Two Minds, One Body

Sorry this chapter took so long to write. I actually wanted to add more to this chapter but with everything that's been going on, i figured that by the time I added everything that i wanted to, to this chapter, it would be another week or so by the time i got it out. I was planning on sending this to the beta reader but figured you all have been waiting paitently for too long. Sorry beta! I'll definately send you the next chapter. So if you guys find some mistakes in this one, it's not been betaed.

I actually had a bit of a writers block in the beginning, and when i finally got an idea of what i should write, i got my report card from school, and let's just say I wasn't too happy about it, and that just ruined my mood to write. And then to top it off, I found out that one of my relatives might have cancer and has to go through surgery... man, those few weeks were so messed up. Then we were getting our house floors re-done. Now, for the past few days, it's been pouring down like anything and our basement is flooded and the lights and internet are being very fussy...

Well, enough about me and my problems and now on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter XIII: Two Minds, One Body**

LadyDevimon was fuming. She could have had those brats in her grasp by now if everything went according to plan, but those kids just had to run away. Now Devimon, the Myotismon brothers and herself were on a little adventure to find those two kids.

A few days ago...

LadyDevimon found herself standing in front of a small water fountain, as she waited patiently for her partner to show up. _Where is he?_ she thought as she examined the fountain in front of her. Her master told her this was where the old geezer of a digimon lived and she was eager to get back into her master's good graces by destroying the two pesky brats that were residing in Gennai's home.

From the corner of her eye, she could make out a figure that was walking towards her and she turned around. "Finally!" she said, exasperated. "Let's go."

Before she could push the small red button that she had found on the fountain, Devimon placed a hand on hers and pulled her back. "Master wants me to bring the girl back to him so you can't have all the fun and go destroying everything, understand?" he said calmly. LadyDevimon just grumbled under her breath but nodded to show him she understood.

Letting go of her hand, Devimon pressed the small button with one long finger and watched as a small hologram appeared in the middle of the water fountain. "Who goes there?" the small hologram asked. Suddenly, it's eyes widened as it took in the forms of the two digimon standing in front of the fountain.

"Let us in and your house will not be harmed," Devimon said as his red eyes glared down upon the small hologram.

"Of course, we can't say the same for you," LadyDevimon muttered under her breath as she brought one hand up to her face and examined her nails.

"I'm sorry but you shall not enter," Gennai replied as his hologram disappeared suddenly.

"Fine, if that's what you choose," Devimon replied as he slowly formed a black ball in the palm of his hand. "I've tried it the nice way, but nooo… everyone seems to prefer the more violent way!" he spat out. When the dark energy was about the size of a tennis ball, he let it loose, allowing it to hit the water fountain. He leaned back a bit and watched as the small ball of dark energy destroyed everything in its path. The ball slowly made it's way into the ground, making a path straight for Gennai's house. The two digimon immediately followed, water swishing around their feet.

"Let's get this over with quickly," LadyDevimon grimaced as she heard her feet make squishing sounds when she took another step forward. Devimon just nodded his head in response.

When they were at the front door, LadyDevimon smirked as she rang the doorbell. "It makes it a little more interesting this way… I get a little chase of sorts," she replied when she saw Devimon raising his eyebrow in question. Then he rolled his eyes at her antics. Half a minute passed. When no one answered the door, LadyDevimon got impatient and blasted the door open with her hand.

"Ungrateful brats!" she muttered under her breath as she stomped into the house. "Where are they?"

"Hello? Anyone home?" Devimon called out in a sweet tone of voice.

"Do you think Gennai got them out of the house already?" she asked her partner.

"Doubt it, or we would have seen, or heard them go. See?" he smirked as he heard a door on the far end of the house opening and a loud call from a Whalemon. "They're not far."

With Devimon now in the lead, the two of them made their way to the back of the house just in time to catch the old digimon climbing up onto the big water digimon's back. "Move Whalemon! Now!" Devimon heard the old geezer yelling to whale. Whalemon gave a loud cry and dived down into the dark depths of the ocean.

"Damn it!" Devimon cursed as he saw the baldhead of the smaller digimon go under water. "Maybe the brats are still in the house and Gennai was the distraction," he said urgently as the two of them raced back into the house. Devimon tore the back door open in his anger and stormed through the house, blasting things out of his way as he searched the bottom floor. "Search the upper floors, I'll join you as soon as I rake through this one," he barked out as LadyDevimon raced up the stairs, her anger growing by the minute as well.

"Oh children!" Lady Devimon called out in a sugary- sweet voice as she formed a small ball of dark energy in the palm of her hand. She let it fly, ripping the first door on the left off it's hinges. The door flew back and broke into a million pieces as the digimon surveyed the room. The first room was in soft hues of red with a hint of orange. LadyDevimon recognized the room as Sora's as she caught the faint scent of a human in the room.

'_The scent is too faint… that must mean she hasn't been in here for quite a few hours…'_ Getting frustrated, the lady digimon ripped the room apart with a couple of attacks. By the time she was done, the room just had a ton of wooden fragments lying on the floor. Not a bit of furniture was left. Panting, LadyDevimon searched the rest of the second floor and moved on up.

Once she came back down to the first floor- after she searched the other floors, venting her anger on quite a few of the rooms- she spotted Devimon waiting patiently outside of the house. Walking out, she stopped in front of him and reported, "I don't think they have been in the house for the past few hours or so… their scents are not as strong as the old geezer's, meaning they probably left the house before he did… and we saw him leaving."

"That's what I thought too. How they caught word that we were coming after them and who is protecting them, I have no idea… but for now, let's leave a little present for Gennai, shall we?" Devimon asked as he grinned in glee. LadyDevimon chuckled as she gathered some energy into the palms of her hands. A small ball started forming between her palms, increasing in size until it was about the size of a big beach ball. Devimon did the same thing.

"One… Two… Three!" he shouted as they both let their dark energies soar towards the house, Devimon's aimed towards the lower floors, LadyDevimon's attack aimed towards the top of the house. The old mansion came crashing towards the ground, all traces that showed a house being there now laid on the ground, broken and unrecognizable.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Devimon quickly turned around, ready to attack. He caught sight of MaloMyotismon walking towards him with a smirk on his face. "Well, well, well… look what we have here! Two bumbling idiots who can't get a job done properly… Tsk, tsk," the big digimon drawled.

"Shut up!" Devimon roared out as he glared at the brothers in front of him.

"Well, if you don't want us bothering you two, then get the job done properly!" VenomMyotismon shouted as he gripped Devimon by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Devimon didn't bother to claw his way out of the larger digimon's grip because he knew it was no use and just hung limply from VenomMyotismon's hand, his face slowly turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

"Let him go!" LadyDevimon growled out as she glared at VenomMyotismon.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" he asked tauntingly. She just growled in response. "Fine, fine. You're not worth my time anyways," he muttered as he threw Devimon to the ground. The smaller digimon landed at LadyDevimon's feet as she immediately bent down and helped him back to his feet.

-----

_How will this work?_ Tai wondered as he sat in his corner with his eyes closed. He had been sitting in the same spot for the past half hour, thinking of ways to bring his digimon side out. He thought meditating would work, or perhaps a very strong emotion… his digimon side just would not cooperate with him.

"Hum…" Tai muttered under his breath as he tried to solve this puzzle. '_Let's see… I think the only things that both of us- my digimon side and myself- have in common is our hotheadedness and love for Sora… but that's it. I can see that my digimon doesn't really care for the other digidestined… perhaps because he doesn't know them like I do, and has only seen them a handful of times. So how did my reactions get triggered?'_ Tai contemplated as he went over all the times his digimon side came out.

'_Well, my digimon side appeared only when I was in danger, or Sora was in danger… or in other circumstances,'_ Tai added as an after- thought and he felt a blush cover his face. '_So if I'm not in danger, then the only other way to make my digimon side appear is for Sora to be in danger!_

_That can't be right… it shouldn't come to that point… never!'_ Tai growled under his breath as his frustrations got the best of him. "I guess I might take a nap while I'm at it, since it looks like I'm not making any progress…" the brown haired boy whispered under his breath as he leaned his back against the stone wall and let himself fall into a deep meditative state on the border of sleep. He could still hear Sora's colorful screams and threats to Piximon as she dodged various things Piximon threw at her.

A couple of minutes later, Tai once again found himself floating blindly in the recesses of his mind. _'Why am I here again?'_ he thought to himself as he squinted, trying to get a better view through the velvety darkness.

**Taichi.** The brown haired boy heard a booming voice comment lightly.

"_Where are you?" _Tai asked frantically as he searched the immediate area surrounding him, but came up with nothing.

**I see you have come back with more questions this time,** Tai's other side commented as he came into view. The digimon's eyes glowed a bright red, piercing right into Tai's chocolate brown ones. Tai found himself gasping for breath as he pulled his eyes away from the beast's blood red ones.

**You want to tame me, don't you?** The beast asked with a slight mocking tone in his voice, as if daring him to do so.

"_I'm just trying to find out a way that both of us can cooperate with one another. Why do you come out only when Sora or myself are in danger?"_ Tai asked, confusion filling his face.

**Ah, so you've finally discovered it out, eh? Well they should be obvious to you now. I can't let you die, as much as I would like to see that, pathetic human.**The beast mumbled the last part under his breath as he glared at the boy in front of him.

**And you should be well aware that I have claimed that fiery redhead as my mate**, the beast roared out. **Perhaps that was because of your overwhelming feelings for her, but she does spark my interest.**

"_If I don't get a hold of these powers it's going to destroy us both and neither of us will end up surviving!" _Tai shouted out.

**So? What do you want me to do about it? It's true I am a part of you, but as you can see, I'm your… darker half, for a lack of a better description. **The beast drawled out as he raised an eyebrow to his other half.

"_I just want to find a way to exist peacefully between the two of us. I know you may not want to protect and fight for others, only saving yourself, but I'm not like that… Humans are not like that… or at least I would like to think so. Is there some way that we both could share Our powers?" _Tai asked as he stared his counterpart in the eye.

**Hum… I think we can work something out. Fine. You shall have complete rein over our powers when you need them… but beware, if it is nothing significant or nothing worth my protecting, you are in complete control, without my help… no digimon instincts or anything to help you out; just the power. Therefore you have to train your body and mind to be able to control these powers. You will need to achieve a higher state of being before both our minds and bodies are compatible with one another. Until then, we shall remain as two separate halves. Do you understand?** The beast finished with a commanding look on his face as he crossed his hands over his chest, his long claws teasing his upper arms as he did so.

"_Fine. It's a deal. So I just have to train my mind and body to access and accept these changes as a normal part of me and then we can become one?" _Tai asked once again just to clear things up.

**"Yes. As of now, you will have complete control over our powers, to call upon whenever you want. Of course, you should also be able to digest some of the more… grotesque things that may come your way in battle as well," **the beast informed.

"_What do you mean?"_

**A digimon, by nature, is prepared to fight for its life to survive. The smell of blood entices a digimon as well, and some of us live to fight… I guess you can call it our pastime. Therefore, when we fought the digimon yesterday, when I killed it, you did not feel squeamish or uneasy mainly because I did not, and partially because some of my blood lust traveled over to you. When we are both in the same state of mind, our bodies combine and we are one… but that has only occurred in battle, unfortunately.**

**I also have heightened senses so they allowed you to sense a digimon's presence more clearly. Without my presence of mind combined with yours, you may not feel the need to kill as you did yesterday. Or you may not be able to take in some of the things you might see in battle, mainly because you humans are a very pampered species,** the beast spat out.

**You are probably wondering why some of my powers were still in you even after the battle, if our minds are not in synch. Tai nodded his head in response. I left the sense of smell and hearing with you because if I pull all my powers back, then you will be left vulnerable and that will not be advantageous for me either.**

Tai nodded, taking everything in. _So I only had access to my powers when my mind was properly in tune. I was left with a couple of heightened senses so that I could protect myself. And I now have access to my powers but have to learn how to control them on my own because my digimon won't help me unless I'm in dire need or something. Great… _Tai sulked.

The beast chuckled at Tai's thoughts. **You have the right idea,**the beast smiled. **Oh, and I wanted to add something to our deal, **the beast suddenly said, with a slightly devious grin on his face.

"_What is it?" _Tai asked warily as he glared at his counterpart that was floating in front of him.

**Just as you have complete control of my powers now, I want complete control of this body when I want it, **the beast proposed.

"_What? What for?" _Tai asked as he knitted his eyebrows together. "_Don't you already have control over our body when you want to?" _he asked dumbly.

**Not quite. Your stupid human emotions keep interfering when I try to claim that woman as mine, **the brown haired boy's counterpart growled at him as the beast brought his face inches away from his own.

Tai's eyes widened in shock when he finally realized what the digimon was asking for. "_You can't do that to Sora! Hell, she might not even be ready to be claimed as our- yours. You can't just rush her into something like that. If you claim a mate, isn't it for life or something?"_ Tai asked. The beast nodded.

"_Then shouldn't you give her some more time to get used to us? You might be pushing her into something she isn't ready for… at least before you do anything, ask her first. I'm fine with whatever you do… you're a part of me, and whatever you desire is my desire, in some weird way… I just may have more desires and other promises to take care of more than you, but it's not like I completely disagree with everything you do."_

**Fine. I shall stick with your condition and ask her before I claim her as my mate. If that is the case, will you let me take control of this body when I want? **The beast asked once again.

"_Sure I guess… it's not like your going to put myself or Sora or any of my friends in danger… are you?" _Tai asked suspiciously.

**Never,** he hissed out, enraged that the boy would think he would place himself or Sora in danger.

"_Good. Fine. As long as you don't go on a rampage of destruction and promise to behave, then I guess it's fine for you to have control of where we go or what we do once in a while… but how exactly will that work?" _Tai questioned, wondering if he would get control of his body back anytime soon in that case.

**Idiot, **the digimon muttered under his breath. Luckily Tai did not hear it. **When you have control of this body, I can still come in at any time and take over, it's just that your presence of mind will be stronger than mine at that time and you could override any of my commands. When I have control, my presence will be stronger than yours, and even though you may be able to feel, see, hear, touch, whatever I do, you may not be able to stop it. Just like when we were battling the digimon, my state of mind was a little stronger than yours therefore you felt as if you were enjoying yourself rather than having a sick and uneasy feeling inside. That was because at that time I had a stronger control of the mind. Understand?** Tai nodded in reply.

**But once our minds are one, we will not have any problems such as this. When you are tuned properly, we will not be feeling each other's presence as two different minds trapped in one body, but rather, it will feel like you have found a missing portion of yourself. **

**But no need to concern yourself of anything. I will not do anything that you may regret afterwards, **the man in front of Tai snickered. **Now if you do not mind, I would like to get back to my nap,** he said as he started to slowly fade out from view.

"_Wait!"_ Tai yelled as he once again found himself in the darkness. He groaned and figured he might as well go back to the present since he did not want to get stuck in the back of his mind for the rest of the day.

Giving a slight moan, Tai slowly opened his eyes and found himself back at the coliseum, his head and back resting against the wall, his legs crossed in Indian style.

"Well, that was fun," Tai groaned out as he rolled his neck a bit to work out the stiffness. Sora was currently sitting on the ground panting, a water bottle in her hand as she continued to glare at Piximon. Tai chuckled and guessed that Piximon must have really worked Sora hard. His eyes widened as he suddenly felt a tingling sensation run throughout his body and then stop as suddenly as it started. '_What was that?' _he thought. _Oh… must be my new powers then…_ he thought with glee. "This should really surprise Piximon … that I've got control over my powers so quickly," Tai grinned.

"Well, let's see…" _I want claws._ Tai closed his eyes and visualized himself with claws. A half a minute later, he felt a tingling sensation wrap around his hands and he opened his eyes to find himself sporting long claws on both hands. "Nice!" Tai commented. He then closed his eyes and imagined himself as human again. Opening his eyes once again, he found his hands back to normal. He went through all of his various changes- wings, claws, lengthening, hearing, smell, - and found that he could produce the change in less than a minute.

Piximon decided that it would be a good time to check up on Tai and flew over to the boy who was grinning from ear to ear. "How is your progress?" the small digimon asked.

"Great! I have all the changes under control now!" Tai shouted with enthusiasm.

"Good job. That was faster than I thought," Piximon said lightly. "Well, we are finished with training so the two of you have the rest of the evening to yourselves," Piximon told the two teenagers.

"Finally!" the brown haired boy heard Sora mutter as she lay back onto the ground in a spread- eagle sort of fashion.

_Wow… for her to be done with training, that must mean a few hours have passed then…_ Tai gasped. "Longer than I thought…" he mumbled under his breath. He got up and walked over towards Sora as Piximon flew out, muttering something along the lines of 'urgent business to take care of' while he flew by.

"Hey, how was training?" Tai greeted as he sat down next to Sora, their digimon soon flocking towards them.

"Tiring," the redhead groaned. "I need a shower," she muttered under her breath.

"Then you should take one," Tai immediately replied.

"But that would require me to get up and walk all the way up to the room," she stated.

"Well, in that case," Tai started. He got back onto his feet and bent down over his girlfriend, lifting her off the ground as he placed one hand beneath her neck and the other under her knees. "I'll carry you there."

"What? Tai! Put me down right now!" Sora yelled as she blushed wildly. "You don't need to do that," she said softly.

"I know, but I want to," he whispered back as he started walking towards the stairs. Agumon and Biyomon suddenly decided it would be fun if Tai could carry them as well and they immediately latched onto the boy's legs as he started making his way up the stairs. He grunted from the impact and then asked, "What do you two think your doing?" as he glared down at the small digimon.

"Well, since your giving Sora a lift, we thought you could give us one too," Agumon explained as he held onto his leg tightly.

_They don't know we're together… calm down,_ Tai repeated in his mind as he tried to calm himself down. He could feel his other half getting angry at the two digimon that were clutching at his legs and Tai frantically tried to calm his… more violent side. He knew that the digimon inside of him did not care much for the rest of his friends, but that was mainly because he did not know them like Tai did, and therefore just thought of them as an annoyance. But he knew that his other half would not do anything to these digimon because they meant so much to Sora and himself.

Once he arrived at their room, Tai kicked the door open and then placed Sora back onto her feet. She held onto his arm for a few seconds as she regained her equilibrium and then flashed him a quick smile as she walked over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes. "I'm going to go take a shower… after that we can head down for dinner," she said as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

The two smaller digimon detached from Tai and ran back out of the room when they heard a couple of digimon calling them. "There are our friends! We'll see you at dinner Tai," Agumon yelled behind him as Biyomon and himself ran off to meet their friends.

Tai suddenly felt a lurching sensation in the back of his mind and then found himself on his knees as he clutched his head and groaned in pain. "What's going on?"

His back arched as he let out a light scream and his vision shifted. The pain stopped abruptly and he let go of his head. _What's going on?_ He found that his vision was a lot sharper now, just like it had been in battle. _Hey you!_ Tai screamed into his mind, hoping his other half would hear him and respond. He didn't exactly have time to go back into his meditative state at the moment.

**What do you want?** He heard a voice answering back into his mind. It somehow seemed a lot closer and much more clear than before.

_What's going on?_ Tai asked for the third time.

**I've taken over for a bit,**was all the digimon said before he tuned out the curious boy. Before he tuned the boy out, he added in reassurance, **don't worry; technically, I'm still a part of you, just a different part that people have not seen before, so I will not seem too out of place if I show up. **

_You'll make it seem as if I have multiple personalities or something! _Tai screamed out but realized his other half wasn't listening to him. Sighing, he tuned back into the present and realized he could feel what his digimon side was feeling at that moment and could hear any thought that went through his head. _I guess this is how I'll be seeing things once our minds synch up… hopefully that will be sometime soon… _Tai thought with annoyance.

_Well, there's one thing we can agree on,_ Tai thought as both of them decided that they would take a seat on the wooden chair in the corner. _This feels really weird. _

**Now you know how I feel,** the beast replied.

_It feels as if I'm talking to my conscience or something. No, I'm not talking to myself!_ Tai decided as he shook his head, trying to get the weird thoughts out of his head. The digimon just chuckled in response. They suddenly heard another sound and realized that Sora was done with her shower. A bunch of thoughts flashed through the digimon's mind, and seeing as it was a part of Tai, Tai saw them as well. _No, no, no, no, no!_ Tai yelled out to himself as his whole face flushed a bright red.

The darker side of him just laughed and said, **don't worry… I won't do anything she does not want me to do…**

**You defiantly need to get in touch with your dark side,**he chuckled.

_You are my dark side! _Tai grumbled as he found himself walking over towards the bathroom door.

-----

Sora let out a moan of pleasure as the steaming hot water hit her sore muscles. _Piximon definitely gave me a workout today,_ she sighed as she grabbed the shampoo bottle.

Once done with her shower, she quickly dressed into a pair of blue jeans and a light yellow shirt. _Reminds me of what I used to wear back in the old days,_ she laughed softly.

Sora then grabbed a smaller towel and tried to get as much water out of her hair as possible. _I should bring my hairdryer next time… but where to plug it in?_ she thought. "Perhaps I could ask Piximon to magically make me one," she contemplated. Seeing that this was the driest she could get her hair to be when she used a towel, she ran a brush through her slightly damp hair and piled her dirty clothes and towels in a corner of the bathroom. She then opened the door and was completely taken by surprise.

"Tai!" she yelled lightly as she took a step back in shock. He stood right in front of her, grinning as he watched her. "Don't do that!" she scolded playfully as she hit his chest lightly. The redhead stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her, but found that she couldn't go any further than that. Tai was currently blocking her way out.

_He seems a little different as well,_ she thought to herself as she looked up at his face. "Tai?" she asked as he took a step closer towards her, effectively pinning her to the bathroom door with no way out. "Tai?" she asked once again, her voice barely above a whisper. She frowned when she got no reply. "Is… is something wrong?" she asked quietly, continuing to keep eye contact with him. She could see something swimming in his eyes that she had never seen before, and it sent shivers down her spine as she continued to stare into his eyes.

"Nope… nothing's wrong," he whispered as he placed the palms of his hands on the door next to her head. He bent over so that he nose was touching hers, his soft breath puffing out against her lips.

"Aren't we supposed to go down for dinner?" she asked as she tried to squirm away from him. Tai had never acted like this before, and as much as it thrilled her, it kind of scared her because she had no idea what was going on.

"There's still an hour before dinner," he immediately replied as he pressed his body against hers and wrapped his arms around her waist so she couldn't go anywhere.

"What about the digimon?" she asked as she hoped they were still in the room. As much as she wanted him to kiss her, this new side of Tai was making her heart beat twice as fast, bringing up new feelings that she had never encountered before.

"Out." Was all he said in response before he swooped down and captured her lips with his. He pushed her against the bathroom door, running his hands up and down her back. Sora lifted her arms and wrapped them around Tai's broad shoulders, letting him press her against himself and the door. She let out a light groan as she felt him run his tongue against her bottom lip, sucking on it lightly before he ravished her mouth with his.

-----

_What do you think you're doing? _Tai asked his other half as they waited out in front of the bathroom. He heard a soft twisting of the doorknob and found himself face to face with Sora. She heard him yell his name in shock. _I don't blame her… I would be shocked to find a person standing right outside the bathroom door too!_ He yelled at his other side.

**Oh shush… why can't you just relax and watch the show**? His other side demanded as he watched his girlfriend close the door behind her and call his name softly again.

"Is something wrong?" he heard her ask.

"Nothing's wrong," he found himself telling her.

"Aren't we supposed to go down for dinner?"

Another question. "There's still an hour before dinner," he found himself replying again. _What are you planning?_ Tai asked his other side, his eyes narrowing. He pulled Sora towards him and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her in place. _Can't you see she's uneasy with this? _He pointed out as she had a slightly nervous look on her face. He could suddenly smell her excitement and his eyes widened.

**You were saying?** The digimon laughed at him. **She wants this… don't interfere, **the digimon grinned. Tai suddenly found himself brushed off by his digimon side.

_How rude!_ Tai pouted.

"What about the digimon?" she asked once again. Tai suddenly felt strong waves of anger and frustration flowing off his other side and he wondered why.

_What's wrong with you? _Tai asked as he raised an eyebrow.

**She's trying to run… we'll see if she still wants to after this,** Tai heard. **Now just sit back and enjoy the show… because that's all you'll be able to do. **

He felt himself emitting a low growl before he whispered, "out." Tai suddenly felt his body jerking forward as he felt his lips on top of Sora's. His eyes widened as a quick thought scampered through his head. _I want this as much as my other side does…_ as soon as he processed that thought, he felt a small pull in the back of his mind and found himself back in control of his mind. Except this time, his darker side was right next to him, having as much control as he.

_What's going on?_ He asked.

**Like I told you before, when we feel the same type of strong feelings towards the same thing, our minds synch together and we are one, like in this case… you dirty dog,** he chuckled to himself.

_What?_ Was all Tai could say in response before he felt Sora kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He felt a sudden surge of strong emotion flooding and encompassing him as he pushed her against the bathroom door and ran his hands down her sides as he let his tongue slither into her mouth.

**You want this, as much as I do, don't you? I'm just letting you get what you want without any inhibitions this time, **his inner voice explained.

He soon found himself groaning out loud as Sora slipped her hands under his shirt and trailed her hands over his chest and stomach. Tai then pulled away from her lips to grab a breath of air and found her soft breath against his neck. He felt her kiss and nip at his neck, her lips traveling lower with each passing minute. She made her way down to his collarbone and across to his shoulder where she suddenly found herself biting him.

**That little temptress!** Tai heard himself chuckling in his mind.

Tai let out a soft gasp as he felt her teeth sink into his skin. As soon as the stinging sensation came, it disappeared as she licked the spot as an apology.

"Sorry, I didn't hurt you did I?" he heard his whisper into his ear, her breath tickling him.

"Nah… I kind of enjoyed that," he found himself saying as he grinned. _You and your sadistic thoughts,_ Tai thought to his other half. Seeing as they weren't 100 percent in tune, they still existed as two minds in one body. Until Tai reached a higher state of mind, they would still exist as two minds even though they might agree on the same things.

Tai suddenly felt his digimon side taking over… or perhaps it was his darker side… or maybe it was just his dark thoughts that had taken on a human form… but whatever it was, it was taking over his mind, pushing him further, making him bolder than ever before.

He smelt her arousal and it was sending his senses into overdrive. _I want her,_ he thought to himself as he pressed himself against her and grinded his hips against hers.

The digimon inside him just chuckled. **I guess we're more alike than we thought;** he smirked as he too let himself go.

"Tai," Sora whimpered out as she felt him press up against her, his hips pressing against hers. He captured her lips with his once again as one hand went under her shirt to caress her lower back. She gasped once again as he gyrated his hips against hers.

"Tai," she tried once again to find her voice. He cut her off once more by kissing her. When his lips dipped down to her neck, she finally found her voice once more. "We should go down to dinner," she panted out. Of course, even if she said that, her body claimed something completely different.

The brown haired boy decided that it was time to back off, not wanting to scare her too much with his aggressiveness. Tai let out a soft growl as he nuzzled her neck but whispered huskily, "Don't think that let you off the hook… I'm not finished with you yet." _How dare you take over my mouth like that! She'll think I've gone crazy! That sounds nothing like me, she won't buy it. _Tai yelled out in his mind.

Sora's eyes widened at his statement but then grinned and replied, "I hope not," as she gave him one last kiss on the lips before pulling away. She gave him a small wink before walking over to the dresser to straighten herself up for dinner. _Wh—what? She actually goes for those kind of cheap lines?_ Tai thought to himself.

**Well I am you… so technically you've made up those 'cheap lines' that you are now spouting out.** Tai just glared at his other half.

Tai found himself groaning at the lack of warmth against his body but decided that it was better that she was in charge of how far she wanted them to go. He would wait for her… that's all he could do. Tai glanced at the clock and saw that it was six forty-five. He slowly felt his darker side slipping back into the recesses of his mind as he found himself having complete control of his body once again. _I guess this is how it's going to feel for a while. This means I have to get our minds in synch as fast as possible…_ Tai thought to himself as he straightened out his clothes as well.

Once the two of them were ready, Sora grabbed his hand as they walked out the door and down towards the kitchens. Before entering, she let go of his hand and then walked inside, Tai following a couple of seconds later. They took seats across from their digimon and silently started their meals, their digimon actively talking about what they did with their new digimon friends all day long.

-----

Once dinner was over and they were back in their room, Sora found that she could relax a little easier. Changing into her nightclothes, she slipped into bed and pulled the covers over her. She rolled over onto her side and saw Biyomon sleeping next to her on the floor.

She shot the bird a questioning glance and Biyomon just said, "I'm too tired to fly up there and sleep… takes too much of effort."

Sora chuckled and said, "I think Agumon's ways are rubbing off on you." Biyomon squawked in protest but nonetheless, felt herself falling into a light slumber. Sora watched until her friend was in a deep sleep and then she closed her eyes herself to get some sleep.

Sora suddenly felt the bed shift as another body slid in beside her. "Wha-" the redhead started, as she turned the top half of her body around to face the person behind her.

"I told you, you won't get off that easy," Tai growled out, his voice low and sensuous. Sora's eyes widened as she felt herself locked in place by his dark brown gaze.

-----

As soon as dinner was over and they were back in their rooms once more, Tai watched as his girlfriend and their digimon's curled up to sleep. Biyomon was sleeping on her futon this time, he noted. As he reached for his nightclothes he saw Agumon from the corner of his eye, half on his futon, half on Tai's, his body sprawled out as he started snoring loudly. Shaking his head, he quickly changed and walked over to his futon, careful not to disturb any of his friends. As soon as he was on his hands and knees, he felt a lurching sensation once again, pulling him back to give control to his darker side.

_Not you again, _Tai groaned out.

**Careful, or I might not give you control again,** the beast chuckled. **Relax. You need to learn to let go and trust Sora and yourself,** he commanded. Tai sighed, realizing it was no use convincing himself otherwise and decided to just go with the flow.

Tai, now controlled by his digimon instincts, crawled over to Sora and lay down next to her. He heard her gasp and stutter in shock. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he leaned over and whispered, "I told you, you won't get off that easy," as he proceeded and lightly kissed her ear lobe. He let go of his inhibitions and other worries and kissed her neck, proceeding downwards. He could feel his more worrisome side finally letting go and relaxing just like he told him to.

"You're too tense," he whispered against her neck as his hands slipped under her shirt and slowly massaged her sides, making their way upwards. He felt Sora wrap her hands around his shoulders, the tips of her fingers buried in his hair as her nails slowly ran down his scalp, making him elicit a small groan of pleasure.

Tai kissed his way down to her shoulder, sliding one strap of the black spagetti- strap that she wore, down her shoulder unto her arm as he made his way down.

"Tai…" she moaned out as he pressed his body against hers. He lifted a leg and placed it between hers so he could get more comfortable as he lifted his head back up to her face.

"Sora," he growled out as he kissed her on the lips once again. He felt her tongue prodding at his lips and he grinned. Allowing her entrance, he battled with her for a while before moving to her cheek, as one of his hands came up to run his fingers through her auburn locks.

"Tai," she started as she opened her eyes to stare into his. The brown haired boy heard her gasp and shot her a questioning glance. "Tai, your eyes… they're red," she stuttered out as she ran a hand down his face and caressed his cheeks. "You okay?" she asked, knowing what kind of pain he has been through when these changes occur.

"I'm perfectly fine… never better," he whispered back as he turned his head slightly to kiss the inside of her hand.

"It's not hurting you?" she asked as she ran her fingers over his eyes. He closed them and sighed as he laid his head down next to hers on the pillow.

Pulling her body tight against his, he decided to explain what was going on. He felt her run her hands through his hair as he thought of a way to explain what was going on.

_Ha! She's caught you now!_ Tai's more human side laughed. This was the first time seeing his digimon side at a loss for words.

**Shush. If you don't let me think, we'll both look bad. I'm trying to find an easy way to explain this,** the beast explained.

_Oh,_ he pouted.

"Sora," Tai started, as his red eyes pierced her own. He could feel a spike in her excitement as he continued to stare at her. **Huh… seems she likes red eyes… or maybe your darker side… something to keep in mind, eh boy?**The beast asked. He got no response from the pouting 'boy'.

"Sora, um… I'm not sure how to explain this all to you, but I'll try…" he said. She gave him a questioning and confused look. "Well, I'm not exactly Tai at this moment…" he took a minute to glance at her face for any reaction. He didn't see one so he continued. "Well, I am Tai, but not the one you know and interact with every day… I'm his digimon side to be exact," he finished.

"Huh? Well your still Tai right?" she asked lamely.

"Of course. It's just that we currently have two different mind sets, my digimon instincts and way of looking at things and his human ways. But once we're in synch, our minds will be one and we won't have these split personality problems," he explained.

"Well, if I'm going to be stuck with you then I'll have to accept this side of you too, won't I?" she asked as she lightly kissed his lips. He nodded. "But that still doesn't explain the red eyes," she pointed out.

"I think it's because the digimon side in us is more prominent now, the red eyes comes with it. When our human side is more predominant, our eyes would be brown, I think," he said as he scratched his head in contemplation.

"So I guess I'll be able to tell when your digimon side takes over, eh? Not that it's a bad thing," she quickly added, thinking that her last comment may have sounded like he was evil or something. Sora was then abruptly cut off by a yawn. "Heh, sorry, I must be more tired than I thought I was."

Tai nodded and then said, "get some rest then. If you still have more questions, then we can talk in the morning." He untangled himself from her and pulled his own blanket over himself. Tai felt his other half slowly receding back into the depths of his mind as his eyes turned to a chocolate brown color. He soon felt the girl next to him wrap her arms around his waist as she pressed herself up against his back and snuggle close to him, her breath immediately easing out to one that resembled a light sleep.

-----

The next morning, Tai had somewhat of a rude awakening. Piximon flew in once again at six in the morning, trumpets blaring, while Tai just groaned and rolled over, placing the pillow over his head. He was then stripped of his blanket, pillow, and futon as he found himself back on the cold stone ground and was thus, rudely awakened. His only source of warmth was the girl next to him, which he promptly cuddled up next to as he rolled over onto her futon and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Urgh… can someone please stop that racket?" he muttered out as Sora blinked her eyes open.

"Tai?" she asked as she saw him draped over herself. She then registered what that loud sound was and looked up at Piximon.

"You two! Up!" Piximon ordered as he flew out of the room taking Biyomon and Agumon with him.

Tai sighed, the noise finally going away, and buried his head in Sora's chest as he promptly fell asleep again.

"Tai, as much as I would like to sleep in, we have to go. You have training, remember?" Sora gently prodded as she tried to get him off of her.

"Don't want to," she heard the muffled reply. Sighing, she pushed him over so that his body was touching the cold floor once again. Since he wasn't wearing a shirt, once his upper body touched the floor, he let out a gasp and blinked his eyes open. "Do I have to get up? Piximon will probably just forget about us if we don't show up after a while," he mentioned as he climbed back onto the futon.

"Tai!" Sora said, frowning as she sat up. "Come on, get up. I'm going to go change… you'd better be up when I come back," she said as she lifted herself off the futon and walked over to the bathroom, knowing that a fresh set of training clothes would be ready for her. On her way there, she saw Tai's futon, blanket and pillow neatly placed in a corner of the room from when Piximon tried to wake Tai.

Walking into the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and quickly changed into her training clothes. She saw Tai's clothes next to hers and decided to take them out to him since it didn't look like he was going to come all the way to the bathroom and change. She walked out of the bathroom, clothes in hand and placed her nightclothes back in a drawer and brought Tai his clothes. She sighed when she saw him curled up under the blankets, sleeping peacefully once again. She bent down onto her knees so she was right next to him and placed his clothes on the floor. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gently shook him and waited. No response.

"Tai, come on, get up. I'm done changing. You should do the same and get ready," she said gently. He just moaned and turned to lay on his back. Frowning she wondered what she could do to wake him up. "Ah!" she muttered under her breath as she smirked. Leaning down so that her lips were next to his ear, she whispered, "Here, I'll even help you change," as one of her hands sneaked down under the blankets to the top of his night pants.

She hooked her fingers under the silky material and prepared to pull down, when all of a sudden, a warm hand snaked down to catch hers. She was caught by surprise when that hand gave a small yank, pulling her hand back up and she fell on top of him as she lost her balance. She blinked a couple of times and found herself looking a now wide- awake Tai, who grinned at her. "Now I wouldn't mind waking up like this," he whispered as he gave her a small kiss good morning.

"Ha ha. Don't bet on it," the redhead told him as she unwrapped his arms from around her and got up. "Here's your clothes. Get changed and let's go."

"You think you could help me?" he asked, winking. "You know you want to," he whispered to her as he got onto his feet and wrapped his arms around her once again. His eyes flashed red for a couple seconds and then vanished.

"What happened to the shy, sweet Tai that I knew?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tai chuckled. "He's still in here. But of course, when I'm with you…" he trailed off as his eyes flashed red again. Sora felt her face heat up for a slight second as she stared at him. Tai then bent down, picked up his clothes and changed into them. He walked into the bathroom to splash some water on his face to wake himself up and then to brush his teeth.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go," he said as they walked down to the coliseum grounds together. Once they got there, they could see a fight was already taking place with Piximon watching over.

"So this is why he took them out of the room first," Sora muttered under her breath as she watched her digimon train. Biyomon was facing Agumon, both of them attacking with a little bit of hesitancy.

"That attack won't even hurt a fly!" Piximon lashed out. "If Agumon gets hurt, fine. We have digimon to take care of that, and with a good meal, he'll be back to normal. If you two don't give this everything you have, what's the use of this training?" Piximon yelled out. "Now digivolve!" he said as he waved his staff in the air.

Apparently his staff had enough power to make them digivolve to the next stage without the digivices actually being present in front of them. Back in the room, Sora's digivice gave a soft glow as Biyomon got enough power to digivolve. Same with Agumon, as he was replaced by a Greymon.

Birdramon gave a loud yell and took to the skies, as Greymon threw fire blasts at the massive bird. It hit the underside of Birdramon's wings and she just merely absorbed the power and sent it back to him as a Meteor Wing attack.

"Hum… fire against fire won't work to well," Piximon muttered under his breath.

All of a sudden, Greymon gave a loud roar as he fell from an attack by Birdramon's talons. The massive digimon fell onto his back and groaned as he devolved back into Agumon. "It's too early to do this, and I'm hungry," he complained as he sat up.

Biyomon came back down and landed in front of him. "I beat you!" she said excitedly.

"Yea? I was hungry and sleepy. If I was in my mega form, you wouldn't stand a chance!" Agumon retorted as he stood proudly.

"Well, that wouldn't be fair, now would it? You would have to go up against Gabumon for a fair battle," Biyomon informed him. "Now only if I could go mega," she whispered under her breath.

"Even if you did reach your mega form, you still wouldn't be able to beat me! Right Tai?" Agumon asked as he turned to his friend.

"You can't make that assumption just like that!" Biyomon yelled as she pecked him on the head with her beak.

"Uhh, don't bring me into this," Tai pleaded as he raised his hands in front of himself. He looked over at Sora for a split second and saw she was silently laughing at the two digimon in front of her.

"Fine then. Achieve mega level and then we'll battle and see who's stronger!" Agumon proclaimed.

"Fine!" Biyomon said as she turned her back to him.

"You guys don't have to battle each other to see that," Sora said as she knelt next to Biyomon and picked her up. "I wouldn't want to see either of you hurt you know. You could just go against the evil digimon and see who beats him first instead," she offered.

Both of them 'hmph'ed and turned away from each other. Tai chuckled as he walked up to where Sora was kneeling and said, "They'll get over it in a couple hours."

"Okay then. If you all are done chatting, we shall start Tai's training," Piximon announced as Biyomon and Agumon ran over to the stands to watch their respective partners. Back in their seats, they sat a couple feet away from each other as they watched the field below.

"I want both of you to run a couple of laps around, stretch and then we'll run through a couple of dodging exercises. Then Tai will get the field," Piximon informed them as they started running.

"It's too early to do this," Tai complained as he stretched out his legs after the run.

"Now I know where Agumon gets his attitude," Sora laughed. She had made some improvement from when she started training; she could now run around the wide field without loosing her breath. Once they were done with their stretches and other trials Piximon put them through, Tai took his place in the middle of the field and Sora went back to the stands.

"Okay. First I want you to show me that you have your changes down properly." Tai nodded and showed Piximon that he could call forth any change in his body in a matter of a few seconds.

"Good. Now I want you to digivolve all at once," Piximon commanded as he stepped back and watched Tai. The boy slowly sprouted wings, claws, fangs, and lengthened his body, but his eyes remained a light chocolate brown. Piximon nodded and flew around Tai once, muttering stuff to himself under his breath. "Okay. Now can you fly?" he asked as he stepped back and watched the brown haired boy.

Taichi closed his eyes and flapped his wings a couple of times before jumping into the air. All of a sudden, he landed back onto the ground with a loud 'thump.' "Huh?" the boy asked, confused. He stood up and tried again. Once again, he landed back on the ground, this time, flat on his face. He tried running and then taking off, but no use, he just couldn't get into the air. "What's going on?" he asked as he looked at Piximon.

"You tell me, boy."

"What's going on Tai?" Sora asked as she ran back out onto the field. He fell silent for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on. Then it suddenly hit him.

"Remember when I told you right now it's like having two minds in one body? And when the digimon part of me takes control, my eyes turn red? And when my more human side comes out, my eyes are brown," he started as he pointed towards his eyes. Sora nodded and Piximon just listened to his explanation.

"Well, apparently, my digimon side will not help me master these changes and I will have to figure this out on my own… but it shouldn't be that hard to grasp, right? I mean I have all the information I need in here," he said as he tapped his skull.

"It might be harder than it looks because your human. You are not used to having wings or a longer body so it will take some time to get used to these changes. For a digimon, your digimon side came with these changes and he knows how to use it. You do not," Piximon finally said. "I take it once you've mastered how to use your various abilities, the two parts of you will become one? I would imagine it would be kind of hard having two minds in one body," Piximon mentioned. Tai nodded.

"Well then, here's your work for today. Master how to fly and use your Iron Claw. Until then, I do not think you are ready to face a digimon by yourself. It would be as if I gave Sora a pair of paper wings and a stick to fight of a large digimon. No offense to you, bearer of the crest of love, but I do not think a human can face a champion or ultimate level digimon by themselves," Piximon explained.

"Your right," she said nodding. "Tai is now part digimon, therefore can stand on his own, but needs to learn how to use his digimon side of him properly and make his human side accept these changes, correct?"

"Correct," Piximon replied. "Well then, you know your assignment, now get to it," the pink digimon ordered as he watched Tai.

"Can we go get something to eat?" Agumon yelled from his seat on the stands. He saw Piximon nod and so both the digimon rushed to the kitchens for an early breakfast.

"Not fair!" Tai pouted as he fell on his face once again after attempting to take into the air by jumping up and down.

"Perhaps your are not moving your wings with the proper motions. After all, no human has had wings before so I would think you do not know how to use them," Piximon suggested. Piximon went through the motions using his own wings. "Just close your eyes and feel. They are a part of you now, just like an arm or leg. You'll have to learn how to walk all over again, in a way. Except the catch is that you only have a few weeks."

"Great," he sighed as he got started on a long day's work. Sora watched for about an hour and then decided to head back to the real world for a quick pit stop.

"Hey guys, I'm going to head back to my house for a few seconds. I just remembered I needed to fill in some applications for my university and I should probably get that done and will be back in an hour or so," she informed the two on the field. Piximon nodded as she excused herself and ran back to the room.

-----

Sora went back to the real world, filled out and mailed her applications and went back to the digital world once again. When she returned, Piximon and Tai were taking a break for a very late lunch, it was around two in the afternoon when she returned. She walked into the kitchen and saw Tai stuffing his face with anything that was in reach. The auburn haired girl walked over and sat down next to him and informed him of what happened.

"I saw T.K. on the way back over here," she started.

"Oh?" was the only response she got between his mouthfuls of food.

"Yea, Kari, T.K., Ken and Cody decided to come and visit two days from now… that would be tomorrow for them," she said as she picked up a napkin and wiped his cheek of crumbs. "You're a mess," she laughed as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm starving! Not my fault," he mumbled back.

"How did training go?"

"Tiring. I'm exhausted. Piximon said I could take the day off and take a break, and we would work on this some more tomorrow," he mentioned. Sora nodded.

"Did you eat?" he asked as he was finally done with his lunch.

The redhead nodded and said, "I picked up a couple of things from a bakery near by and had a little something as well," as she raised a bag full of treats into the air and placed them on the table.

"Ooh! Donuts!" Agumon yelled out as he sniffed the air. He leaned over and grabbed the bag off the table and promptly stuck his claws in to get some. Sora laughed.

"Just make sure to share with Biyomon and Tai. There should be more than enough in there," she said.

In the end, there were about five or six donuts left- Biyomon and Agumon took most of them- and the yellow digimon decided to save the rest for after dinner.

Late in the afternoon, Piximon came by Tai and Sora's room and informed them that Gennai was waiting down by the beach for them.

"Gennai?" Tai asked. "How is he?"

"He looks perfectly okay. I do not think those digimon that were after you, had any chance to do anything to Gennai. Now come," he ordered as he flew out the door and headed for the beach.

Once there, they saw Gennai standing in the middle of the sandy shores, silently waiting for them. "Hello digidestined. Agumon, Biyomon," he greeted as he took a seat on a rock nearby.

"Gennai! How are you? We heard about what happened right after we left… maybe we should have stayed and helped you out," Sora stated.

"No, no. All that matters right now is the safety of the digidestined. The house can be built again anyways. Oh, and I will be staying here for a while as well, at least until my house is repaired," Gennai mentioned.

"That's great!" Biyomon exclaimed as she flapped her wings excitedly.

"So Tai, I heard something interesting has happened to you," Gennai commented. Tai nodded and started to tell the tale of what happened so far.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, well that's all I have for now. I have gotten started on the next chapter. Would you guys like Shorter chapters and faster updates, or longer chapters which might take a little longer to update? Let me know in a review! 


	14. Reality

Chapter Fourteen: Reality 

_Stories are just stories, right? Demons don't exist in real life, nor do shape shifters. _

_Who am I kidding? They exist just as much as I believe in my own existence. _

_Well, let me start from the beginning. Maybe then you'll understand what I am talking about… _

_It all began when summer vacation started. Eager to get a head start on my vacation and a nice tan to boot, I headed off to the digital world. Of course, I took Agumon along… I would never leave my best friend alone in the human world, left to hold his own against Gatomon. I still laugh at how he is still bullied around by a cat… but then again, I don't have much room to talk either. That story is for another time perhaps. ._

_Once in the digital world eager for a nice break, instead of relaxing, I find myself on another mission to fix up the digital world. Don't get me wrong, I love to help out my second home and all, but can't the creatures who are bent on destruction and taking over the world take a break? It's not asking for much really. But that's not how life works of course. The good should be balanced out with the evil, unfortunately. _

_Anyways, going to the digital world at that moment in time was not the smartest thing to do. Izzy, conveniently forgetting to fix my computer that day, didn't remind me that it needed to be fixed, and I went to the digital world through my computer. Luckily I ended up in the digital world and not elsewhere. Finding myself on a sandy beach, I started looking for Agumon. Unfortunately, leaving my digivice in the real world was a bad idea because my little dinosaur friend was nowhere to be found. Running away from a couple of hungry digimon, and some of Mother Nature's deadly weapons, I made it just in time to be rescued by Piximon. Unfortunately, on the way to safety, I was attacked by an unknown entity and almost bled to death. Luckily, Piximon was able to take me to Gennai's house fast enough. _

_Once in Gennai's home, he hooked me up to a revitalizing machine. In no time, I was back to normal and pleasantly surprised to see Sora and Kari by my side. It was defiantly a pleasure seeing Sora; once she started dating Matt, we didn't have as much time to hang out anymore. Not that I was bitter about it or anything! Of course not… It is unfortunate that I took so long to let her know how I feel and when I finally do get around to expressing my undying love to her, she just gets up and moves on. But looking back, I guess it is partially my fault. A person can only wait so long for someone before they give up._

_I digress a lot. Sorry about that. Once better, the rest of my close friends visited for some quality time in the digital world. Takeru and Kari actually looked very comfortable together, surprisingly. Does this mean Matt and I am going to be brothers-in-law? That should be fun, especially if Sora is my girlfriend… (Note the mild sarcasm.) _

_Back to the topic on hand. Once better, I found that the rest of the original digidestined came to visit me, and I was grateful for that. It meant a lot to me, knowing that my friends were behind me no matter what. I just hope that they're behind me when they hear about my quote-end quote 'problem.' Meanwhile, at Gennai's house, I decided to catch up on some rest while the rest of the digidestined searched the digital world for Agumon. But before we could do that, we decided to head back to the real world to collect some supplies and a change of clothes. Unfortunately, other things came up and soon it was only Sora and myself who left to look for Agumon once again. God I love that girl. The sheer amount of selfless things she does for others never seizes to amaze me. Well, it ended up that Agumon was with the Yokomon. Then the changes started to happen. _

_A demon of a digimon attacked us once Agumon was safe beside me and suddenly, my eyes turned red, and a sudden thirst for blood seized my veins. The monster aimed an attack at me but unfortunately I could not dodge it in time and took the full force of it. But somehow, I did not even notice what had happened. Only when Sora pointed it out, watching in fascination as my body repaired itself, did I realize something was very wrong with me. _

_Soon, I had sharp pains flashing through my head, my eyes turned red on and off, my sense of hearing became sharper, and I was having flashes of pain throughout my body. Sora and I decided to head back to the real world as soon as possible and looked for a computer. Unfortunately, as soon as we spotted a computer, it disappeared from view, as we were transported to a different part of the digital world. We soon found out later that it was the doing of an evil digimon, bent on taking over the digital world one small piece at a time by slowly sucking the life out of the planet. _

_A short while later, I soon realized that red eyes and sharp hearing was not the extent of my powers. I realized I had wings… beautiful, soft, velvety, white wings, if I do say so myself. Somehow, Yamato knew of my being in the digital world and came to see what was going on. He found me in this half transformed state and the feral beast inside of me had a vendetta to settle with him. Unfortunately, the darker half of me attacked an innocent human, which had no way of protecting himself. Luckily, Yamato was able to escape before the beast took complete control over my body and mind. _

_Sora, the only one who could truly satisfy the beast inside of me, suddenly appeared after Yamato took his leave, and I felt myself calming down just by the mere presence of the auburn haired beauty. I felt myself slip into the realm of the unconscious, and it was here that I met my other half… my 'inner digimon,' if you would like to call it so. It was, at first, grotesque to look at, but I guess one has to acquire a taste for its beauty. Once in the right state of mind, I explained everything that had occurred till this point to Sora, desperately wanting another person's opinion on this matter. I am truly proud of how she took everything in stride. If our places were switched, I would have run away like there was no tomorrow. Then I would have probably realized I should be helping my friend in need, and then come back, but Sora stuck by my side this whole time and for that I am truly grateful. _

_A while later, we ran into some trouble and found that shade like creatures from the depths of the digital world did the bidding of the evil digimon, who provided them with unimaginable power, more so than what they should normally have. I reacted as any other protective digimon would, wanting to protect its friends, and called on my darker side to provide me with the powers to kill the dark digimon that threatened my friends. We ran and made it back to the real world in one piece. Not wanting to let my mind wander onto what was currently happening with me, I decided to focus my energy on finding Izzy and getting my computer fixed. Once that was done, settling in to a daily routine was hard… especially when my thoughts kept drifting back to what was going on inside me. But once I realized there were certain perks about having these, abilities, (such as hearing Yamato and Sora breaking up… one of the better days that I've had), I started adjusting to these powers and they to me. _

_Sora and I, soon after, started becoming a little more playful with each other once she broke it off with Matt. Anyways, we headed back to Gennai's house for some well deserved information about what exactly was going on in the digital world. After dinner there, Piximon gave a surprise visit, but unfortunately he was there to train me. Though, because of his perfect timing, we were able to safely escape death by the hands of the evil digimon's minions. Of course I did not find out of this attack on Gennai's house until a couple days after I had left. Luckily, Gennai was fine but the same could not be said about his house. _

_Training with Piximon was hard, and still is. Though I have to say the first few days were very brutal. Since I could not control my digimon powers at will, they appeared and disappeared whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately though, the digimon side of me only cared if Sora was in danger, and not my human half. How selfish of that bastard. Of course, we understand one another now so it is all fine and dandy. _

Clearing his throat from his long-winded retelling of the events past, leaving out some parts of his story that he thought were unnecessary for his audience to know, Taichi looked over at Gennai to gauge his reaction. Of course the old digimon had his eyes half way open, like he usually does and looked like he was asleep while standing upright, but the tension in his body indicated anything but that.

"Hum. I see," he muttered while pacing back and forth on the sandy beach. "I shall try to find out all that I can about this new force that has come to reside in the depths of the digital world. I do know however that he has brought back all those champion and ultimate level digimon that you had fought and defeated, back to life again. You said he controlled 'shades'?" Gennai asked, turning his attention back to the boy in front of him.

"Yes… that's what I think they were, or at least that is what I am calling them for now, because they are as strong or stronger than the normal digimon that they take the form of, and they have red eyes. I think that is what one can use to tell them apart from any other digimon in the digital world. They have purely red eyes, no iris'," Taichi informed the older digimon.

Nodding, Gennai finally said, "Well, thank you for keeping me up to date with this information. I will get back to you as soon as I can about what else is going on around the digital world. Since it is not a good idea for you two to leave Piximon's hide out, I will take a look around." Taichi nodded and in a puff of air, Gennai disappeared.

"How does he do that?" Agumon asked a few minutes later, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the current residents at Piximon's house.

o.O.o.O.o.O

Kari, Takeru, Ken and Cody found themselves inside Piximon's humble abode, bright and early in the morning a couple of days after Gennai provided Piximon with a surprise visit. Walking into the large coliseum area, they found Piximon zooming back and forth, yelling orders out to various digimon.

"No, no, no! That goes into the weapons room!" Piximon yelled as a small, squeamish digimon ran by carrying a couple of spears in its arms. "Oh, digidestined! Come in, come in," Piximon greeted as he flew over to the group of four. "Can you watch these digimon for a few minutes while I go and wake up Taichi and Sora?"

"Wake them up? What time is it right now?" Takeru asked as he glanced at his digivice. It flashed 6:00 AM.

"Well, I shall be back in a few minutes with those two," Piximon said as he flew off up into the coliseum. The small digimon flew into the room without knocking, figuring the two older digidestined would be fast asleep. He was greeted with the same sight that he had seen the past week and a half that they had been with him. All four occupants were fast asleep without a care in the world. _I'm even starting to feel a little guilty for waking them up this early every day. Bah, I'm getting too soft._ Shaking out his 'soft' thoughts, he immediately went to the task of waking up the four of them.

"Wake up!" Piximon yelled as he brought some symbols with him this time. He banged them together a couple of times before seeing the brown haired boy groaning in protest as he cracked his eyes open.

Tai's hand shot out even before Piximon could react and squeezed the pink ball of fur within his grasp. Piximon's eyes bulged slightly as he found himself gasping for air. "What do you think you're doing young man?" Piximon wheezed out while glaring into the bright red eyes that glared back at him.

"Leave us be," Taichi growled out before he tossed Piximon against the wall, settling himself back underneath the comforters. The noise being produced by the two 'digimon' soon woke up the red haired girl peacefully sleeping next to her boyfriend and she cracked her eyes open with a groan of protest.

"What's going on," she asked as she saw Piximon picking himself up off the ground.

"You have no right to treat your trainer that way!" Piximon yelled out, with his staff pointed in the brown haired boy's direction. He just got a grunt in response.

"Tai, what did you do?" Sora asked as she untangled herself from his grip. He opened his eyes and stared at her for a few seconds before answering.

His voice was a few octaves lower than it normally was, making Sora's heart leap into her throat and shivers run through her body. "He interrupted a digimon's sleep, and one does not appreciate it when their sleep is interrupted," he growled out as his red eyes shot daggers into the pink fur ball. "Of course, you are well aware of that, seeing as you are a digimon yourself, Piximon. Now, unless my mate or my friends are dying or in danger, please do not disturb me until I am full and ready to start training," Taichi grounded out as he got comfortable under the covers once again. Sora's eyes widened at the new side of Tai, and she was shocked into silence.

'_He called me his mate…'_ was all she could focus on, as it repeated itself over and over in her head like a broken record. Piximon gave a grunt of disapproval and flew out of the room muttering curses under his breath. Sora felt herself being tugged back down as her back was pulled hard against Tai's chest. "Tai," she started, as she tried to turn around. He just growled and buried his face in her auburn locks. She was finally able to manage turning around so that she was facing him and was about to give him a piece of her mind, when his blood red eyes shot open and her body was once again pushed up against his.

"This actually feels better than the other side, if I do say so myself," Tai chuckled, his voice deep and husky as he stared straight into Sora's lighter eyes.

"Tai stop playing around and get ready. And you should not be treating Piximon that way! He's spending more time and effort than he needs to be, to train you. You should at least show him some courtesy," Sora reprimanded.

"A digimon does what a digimon has got to do," he smirked. "And why should I care of those beneath me?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Everyone else besides my mate," he started as he pinched her butt lightly while grinning, "and family, can get screwed over for all I care. If they aren't any use to me, why bother?" he finished with an air of arrogance.

He could suddenly feel the waves of anger radiating off of the auburn haired girl next to him. "Is that what you seriously think!?" she growled out. "This isn't the human side of Tai talking, is it? You digimon only think about yourselves and your family jewels!" she spat out as she wrenched herself from his grip and stood up, glaring at the digimon inside of Tai. "When Taichi finally decides to wake up and teach you some manners, then come and find me. Until then…" she trailed off as she stomped towards the bathroom to get ready for a day of training.

'_You idiot! What the fuck did you do??' _the human side of Tai finally thought as he saw Sora marching into the bathroom with a look at that could kill aimed towards him.

'**You're finally awake I see. Just giving her a piece of what I thought and how digimon see the world… or at least most of us,**' his dark side informed him.

'_What did you say?'_ Tai demanded.

'**Okay, I was a little tired when I ranted a bit… so sue me. I wasn't in the proper frame of mind to think about what I said. I just told her I didn't really care about anyone else except for her… granted those pesky little human friends of yours mean nothing to me right now because I do not know them, and that same idea basically applies for the rest of the digital world as well. Unlike you, I do not have a hero complex. Sorry to disappoint,'** the beast said with a small smirk.

'_Did you tell her that in those exact words?'_ Tai asked. He received a no in reply and gave a frustrated sigh. '_Great. Let me handle this from now on since you totally messed this up. Be happy that she knew it was you talking and not me, you insensitive jerk!'_ Tai barked as he took over his body. The beast did not respond.

After a couple minutes of contemplating on what to do, Tai decided to pull himself out of bed and stumbled over to the bathroom door. "Sora…" he started, but was cut off by her curt reply.

"I don't want to talk to you right now Tai. Just give me, as well as yourself some space right now, and I will talk to you after training today about this," she stated over the sound of the rushing water.

"Fine…" he trailed off as he slumped against the wall next to the bathroom door. He heard the shower water coming to a slow drip as it was turned off and a rustling of clothes. A few minutes later, Sora walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and ready for training as she headed towards the door. Piximon then took that moment to show up in the room once again, ready to blow off some steam.

Piximon looked towards the bed and stopped short, wondering where Tai and Sora went, until he spotted Sora in front of him, and Tai slumped against the wall. Once Tai saw Piximon, he decided to apologize immediately.

"Piximon, I am sorry about the way I reacted earlier this morning. I wasn't myself, and I am truly sorry for any of the trouble my digimon side may have caused you," the brown haired boy said genuinely. At his apology, Piximon calmed down considerably. Unfortunately it did no good with Sora and her temper.

"Well, I just wanted to inform you two that your friends are downstairs waiting for the two of you," Piximon announced, his wings fluttering frantically behind him.

Sora gasped and then exclaimed, "that's right! Takeru, Kari and Ken were supposed to visit us sometime this week. I completely forgot," she rushed out as she made her way to the door. "It's them downstairs, isn't it?" she asked Piximon before she made a fool of herself downstairs. Piximon nodded before politely asking Tai to get ready for training and then flew out the door.

Tai grumbled and got off the floor and went into the bathroom to change, but on his way to the bathroom, he grabbed Sora's arm as she brushed past him and without turning to face her, he said, "Look, I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I'm sorry. We'll talk about this later though. Okay?" He made it sound more like a command than a question as he dropped her arm and walked on. After changing, he caught up with Sora and Piximon in the ground floor of the coliseum and saw them greeting their old friends.

Tai walked up behind Sora and greeted the three teenagers as well and then turned towards Piximon when the little digimon announced that it was time to start training. Tai nodded as he was in no mood to deal with formalities and greetings this early in the morning, seeing as he had just gotten up. He did notice though, that Kari and Takeru were holding hands and looked pretty close to each other. He gave a small smile to himself, nodded towards Piximon, and started to jog laps around the ring, while Biyomon and Agumon were battling on the field. The other digimon (Gatomon, Patamon, and Wormmon) also looked interested in battling with each other and decided to join in. There was soon a five-way battle going on as the champion level digimon battled each other to the brink of exhaustion, each of their human partners cheering them on.

A good two hours later, once the digimon could no longer go on, and Agumon was pronounced the winner by a few seconds, mainly because he warp-digivolved, Sora and Tai began their training. "What are we to do, Piximon?" Sora asked as she walked out into the middle of the field. Piximon conjured up a staff and a sword and handed Sora the staff.

"You two are to train with these today, and cannot use any other sources except for these weapons and your fists," he announced as he tossed Tai the sword. "I have trained you two to battle with other weapons but those times both of you had the same weapons. Now you will have to figure out how to defend against someone using a different weapon. Both of you know how one can use a staff or a sword, so you should be able to defend adequately," Piximon commented as he flew off to the side. "Now start!"

Sora took up a crouching stance with the tip of the staff on the ground in front of her. Once she heard Piximon give the signal, she charged straight ahead, with a slight smirk to her face when she saw the paniced look on Tai's face. "What's wrong Tai?" she questioned with a hint of a snobbish attitude. "Try to keep up," she asked sweetly as she pulled back and brought her staff back down upon the brown haired boy as he quickly jumped out of the way. The impact of the staff upon the hard ground of the colisium brought about a big dust cloud. Sora jumped away as she let her eyes readjust. Unfortunately for Tai, he was caught right in the middle of the cloud and his eyes started to burn from the dust particles.

Tai let out a growl of frustration as he waited for the cloud to clear. '_Fine, if she wants to play this way, I'll go along with it until she listens to me,'_ he thought with finality. He grinned slightly as he let his eyes turn red for a few seconds, allowing him to see through the dust cloud to spot the lithe body of his girlfriend a few yards away from him. "Found you," he whispered to himself as he lifted his sword and ran towards the unsuspecting auburn haired girl. He snuck up behind her and when he was close enough to her without being detected, he whispered, "Looking for me?"

Sora felt herself shiver as she felt Tai's hot breath on the back of her neck as he whispered to her. She growled softly and she swiftly turned around, staff ready to sink into his skin. '_At least this is a theraputic way to release my anger…' _Sora chuckled to herself. She saw Tai leap away as the staff barely made contact with his white shirt. Sora's grip tightened on the staff as she pulled it back towards her and crouched down again, facing Tai as she glared at him.

The two teenagers stared at eachother, neither of them moving. Everyone inside the arena as well as the spectators could feel the tension between the two of them, as sparks flew between them- figuratively speaking of course. Piximon could sense that this battle was not another one of their playful battles where they would help eachother develop their technique and show mercy if one of them was tired. '_Maybe this was not a good idea,'_ he thought to himself as he watched on.

Sora stared into Tai's red eyes, glaring at him. "You have an unfair advantage over me!" she whispered out furiously.

"You're pissed off, and I don't want to get killed! Nor do I want to hurt you!" Tai told her quickly, as he held his hands up in front of him. She just huffed in response. "Are we going to have to do this every time we get into a fight? I don't think I want to get on your bad side again, then," Tai said as he let out a nervous chuckle. She just gave him an angry look.

"Too late!" she yelled as she hit Tai in the solar plexus with the butt of the staff. He grunted as he felt onto his knees. His sword slipped out of his hands as they wrapped themselves around his mid section. To his horror, Sora did not stop there but continued to attack. She piereced the ground with the tip of her staff, the blade cleanly sinking into the ground right next to his head. Tai's red eyes widened as he immediately rolled away from the staff.

"Woman!-" Tai rolled away from the staff again. "You're crazy! Stop-" He was interrupted again as he had to doge another blow. "-this madness right now!" he said in a rush. He rolled away once more before jumping to his feet and running away from her as fast as he could. As he ran away, he could feel the digimon side of him getting aroused. The beast in him chuckled as he quietly commented, **'she is the ****perfect**** mate for me. Of course this would not be much of a challenge if I could take control, but alas, your human friends are here, and are unaware of my presence.'**

Tai groaned and snidely replied, '_can you think any louder???'_ as Sora came running up behind him with his sword in one hand and her staff in another. "Oh shit!" he shouted out before darting around to the other side of the arena. He could hear Kari, Takeru and Ken laughing at him, thinking that Sora and Tai were playing around. Little did they know that Sora was out for blood, just to cool down her temper.

'**Stop this nonsense running this instant! She has to know who's boss and learn to listen! All of this useless brooding and staying angry is futile and will only waste more time when we could have had this sorted out by now!'** the beast roared as it took over Tai's body and made him stop running and turn around to face the fiery red haired girl.

The beast's red eyes narrowed and his hands came up before him just as Sora was a few feet away from him. Anticipating her moves, the digimon in control grabbed Sora's wrists putting a stop to her movements. She frantically tried to pull back but a growl from him stopped her movements. A few seconds later however, Sora's fury took up residence once again as she started kicking her legs. The beast dodged them with ease as he maneuvered Sora over to the far end of the arena, where the 'spectators' could not hear them.

"Sora, stop your useless attempts to get out. It will not work," the digimon in human form, commanded as his red eyes pierced through Sora's own eyes. His voice was soft, yet commanding, his low tones caressing Sora as she seized all movement. He could hear her panting loud and clear, even when standing an arms length away from her, even though she tried to conceal it discreetly. Tai snorted softly as he muttered, "you humans and attempting to look composed, when it's obvious you cannot keep up." He raised an eyebrow at her when she glared at him, allowing herself to breathe normally again. She took in gulp after gulp of air as her chest expanded and contracted to its full capacity. "Though," he paused for effect. "- With you, it just makes you look cute," the beast whispered into her ear as he leaned in, his breath tickling the side of Sora's neck.

"Look. The main reason I took over was to knock some sense into you," the beast explained but was cut off when Sora yelled, "Excuse me?!?"

"Yes. You being angry and holding a grudge for more than a minute is useless and stupid when you can obviously save more time by listening to my apology instead," the beast said as he looked straight into his mate's eyes. "I am sorry for what I said earlier. I was tired and not thinking properly, but I understand that it is not a valid excuse for what I spoke. You have to understand that to a digimon, the only things that it cares about are kin first and foremost. But that will have to change seeing as I am in the human world and will have to care not only about my family, but… friends as well," the beast sighed as he stumbled over the word friend and his voice quieted down to a whisper at the end.

Sora's eyes softened as she looked upon Taichi's sullen face and realized it must have been very hard for a digimon, with such a big ego- who had gotten his way these past few weeks, to apologize to her in such a manner. Sora cracked a small smile as she easily pulled her hands out from his, dropped her weapons onto the ground and wrapped her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his sweaty and damp chest and whispered, "I forgive you. And I am sorry for acting crazy like this… though it did give us a good workout…" she laughed. She felt Tai's chest rumble along with her chuckles and she lifted her face from him and looked over his shoulder to see their friends coming around to the other side of the arena where they were standing.

"I think we've been standing here a little too long," Sora said as she pointed towards her friends running towards them. Tai nodded in agreement. "You'd better let your human side take over." The beast retreated immediately; his eyes turned brown, his voice became softer and shallow, but along with that came the exhaustion unfortunately, as he half collapsed on top of his girlfriend. As their friends came over to them, asking what happened, having to make an excuse off the top of her head, she told them that Tai had twisted his ankle and as leaning on her for support and they had to stop their sparring match earlier than planned.

The beast in Tai growled furiously, demanding that Tai take a stand and show them that he did not take a beating that easily… well maybe if it was only from his family, but he would never show weakness in front of others who were weaker than him. '_Oh, shut up. You always did talk too much!'_ Tai yelled back as he leaned back against Sora, pretending to limp to the corner of the arena, making up the story as he went along. ­­­­­

o.O.o.O.o.O

After a long day of entertaining their friends, Tai and Sora were finally able to rest in peace towards the end of the day. Walking up to their room, finally back on talking terms, Taichi finally broached the subject of his transformation.

"So when do you think I should tell the rest of our friends about my transformation?" the brown haired boy asked. "I have already seen Yamato's reaction to my digimon form, and let's just say his reaction wasn't pretty… he practically ran the other way," Tai pouted as Sora wrapped her arm around his upper arm in reassurance.

"I think it will be okay, I didn't freak out when I saw you," Sora mentioned. Tai shot her a pointed look in response. "Okay… well, I sort of did freak out at first, but I understood and saw what was happening to you first hand. And at that point, I think I was more scared for you than of you. You were…- are my best friend and I couldn't let my best friend suffer in pain by himself, no matter what he was going through," she finished, giving Tai a big smile. The brown haired boy smiled back and just pulled his girlfriend closer to him as they made it to their room door. Changing quickly, they climbed under the covers hoping for a full nights rest, knowing that Piximon would push them harder than ever the following morning because they slacked off earlier that day.

o.O.o.O.o.O

Training continued like normal; Taichi continued to train with Sora in weaponry and endurance, as well as physically fighting with Agumon, Biyomon and 'the shades' as they decided to call the possessed digimon. The digimon developed in strength and power just as much as their human partners had. Taichi was also able to easily call upon his digimon powers and understood his digimon side a little more. As the beast and human understood each other more and more as the days passed by, their minds came closer to merging into one. There were still a few issues that they did not agree on, and until they understood each other completely, they would not be entirely in-synch.

A few weeks had passed the two love birds and their digimon in a blur; soon came the day the digidestined, new and old were meeting in the digital world to get down to business and take care of the evil penetrating this world. There was still about a month left of their summer vacation before everyone was off to college and Tai and Sora were eager to finish their mission and get back to the real world to enjoy the rest of summer with their family and friends.

The four occupants in the room woke up bright and early, surprisingly without the help of the small, pink digimon. Piximon was pleasantly surprised to see everyone up and ready by the time he came in, trumpets blazing.

"Oh! You all are ready! Good. You must finally be used to rising at this hour," he mentioned; his last comment was aimed at Tai.

"Well, today's the day the digidestined come together here, and I'm a little nervous about how they will react to seeing my digimon side… I've already experienced first hand how Yamato reacted when he saw me, and I'm afraid the rest of my friends may react the same way," Taichi revealed, a pained expression on his face.

"I don't think you should worry about them so much, Tai. We're your friends and we'd never leave your side. If they are truly your friends, they'd accept you and your digimon side," Sora explained. Tai nodded in response and hoped that Sora was right.

Taking a deep breath, Taichi walked past his girlfriend and the digimon and headed down to the kitchens to get a proper breakfast and bracing himself for the rest of the day.

o.O.o.O.o.O

_A/N: I know this isn't the longest chapter, and I've finally gotten this story updated after such a long time, but school is getting really busy for me and I'm taking summer classes, which is no fun. So the time I do have to write is very little, so please bare with me through the unfortunately long waits and keep on reading and reviewing! I really appreciate the reviews I'm getting, and that is the only thing currently that's keeping me writing, without leaving this story._

_I have not read over and checked this chapter for any errors, so if you do see any, let me know. I will be going back over this chapter and fixing it later, but I wanted to post a chapter up as soon as possible, to make up for lost time._

_I've finally moved this story along now towards the end, and I'm hoping there may be less than five chapters towards the end. I felt like I've dragged the story on a bit too long, and that was leading me to a writer's block…_

_So please review and let me know what you thought… after such a long time…. And I hope you will stick with me till the end of this long journey!_


	15. One Mind, One Body

Thank you all for sticking with me for such a long time! I am so happy that people are still reading this story and haven't given up on me completely! I will finish this story, hopefully soon. I myself am getting tired of dragging this story on for so long. I just wanted to post a chapter up to let you guys know I'm still alive and well, though the writing is going pretty slow. However, I hope to finish up the story in perhaps two or three more chapters! So hopefully I haven't lost everyone yet, and if you guys are still with me till the end, I have your eternal gratitude!

OoOoOoO

**Chapter 15. One Mind, One Body.**

Tai felt his nervousness returning to him as the minutes slowly ticked down to his friends' arrivals. As he saw a full head of pink hair come into view, he felt his heart drop down to his stomach as he shifted in agitation.

Next to him, Sora whispered small reassurances as she gently grasped his upper arm and pulled it to her chest. Tai nodded briefly and then gulped down his fear as he saw the rest of the group come into view. Piximon flew to the entrance of his home and let the rest of the digidestined in with a warm welcome.

Sora let Tai's arm go as their friends came to greet them, and pushed him forward slightly as their friends surrounded and bombarded them with various questions. Unsure of what to say, the two teenagers remained silent, throwing furtive glances at one another. Tai then saw Piximon in the corner and shot him a look of desperation, as he started panicking again. Piximon took pity on the two teenagers that he had grown quite fond of, and decided to save the group from the awkward silence that was sure to follow when neither Sora nor Tai answered any of their questions or concerns.

"How about if we do this," Piximon offered, as he fluttered over the excited group of young adults. "I will show you all your rooms. You all can unpack and settle down before we have lunch. Once everyone has been satiated, Tai and Sora can explain what has transpired in the digital world over the past couple of months. How does that sound?" Everyone nodded in agreement as Piximon led the way to their rooms.

Sora and Tai followed as well, curious to see where their friends would be accommodated. They were surprised to see that there were _only_ three rooms that were to be occupied by the group of them. They also noticed that their belongings were displaced: Tai's items were placed in the first room- a room which belonged to him only; Sora's items were located in the second room which was noted to be the girl's room. Wondering how all four girls were going to sleep in such a tiny room- assuming their room would be as big as Tai's, which was big enough to fit no more than two people comfortably- he took a peek into their room and was stunned to see four beds adequately spaced around a rectangular room, each bed with its own dresser next to it. The room was fairly big with a door leading to the bathroom at the very end of the room, parallel to the room door. The next room was for the rest of the guys; it was similar in format as the girl's room, except for the fact that it was bigger in size to accommodate seven teenage boys.

When asked why Tai was able to get his own room, Piximon postponed the justification by saying "Tai will explain that himself, after lunch." He was on the receiving end of a few protests, mainly from Davis, but remained silent.

Once settled in their respective rooms, everyone met back downstairs for lunch. They had a hearty meal provided by the Veggiemon in the kitchen and once the table was cleared, all of the digidestined settled down in an adjacent room to hear Tai's story. The room was decorated in mellow colors and showcased various tapestries on the wall. "What is this room, Piximon?" Mimi asked as she walked over the threshold.

"This room was designed as a place of solace for recuperating digimon at first, but it has also been used as a conference room for important digimon- such as the four that watch over our digital world," Piximon explained.

"So does that mean we're important as well?" Davis was immediately rewarded with a smack over the head with Piximon's staff for that errant comment. "Ouch! What was that for?" Davis retorted, glaring at the small beast.

"How come the four digimon protectors cannot fight this evil digimon that has come to take over the digital world?" Joe asked, wondering if the four protectors were indeed what they were idolized to be since it seemed that the digital world kept falling into the hands of darkness time after time.

"You see, a digimon with certain characteristics has to be born in order to take over the job of one of the protectors. Without another digimon created to take the old digimon's place currently, none of the four protectors can fight at this moment in time. If the balance of the four is destroyed, it will have very bad consequences for the digital world," Izzy explained. "Worse than what I assume is happening currently," he added.

"Oh…"

"Alright then, shall we go on to hearing Tai's story?" Piximon urged on as he ushered everyone into the room and around the big oak-wood table located in the center.

Once everyone was seated, Tai took a deep breath and started unweaving his adventurous tale to the rest of his audience around him. Just like he told Gennai, he repeated his story once again, deciding to leave out the information about his and Sora's relationship until the urgent matters at hand were taken care of. "Please do not interrupt until you have heard everything I have to say…" Taichi started.

A while later, the occupants of the room jumped slightly as Izzy's voice took over and saturated the air. "No way!" Izzy screamed as he jumped up from his seat, concomitantly pushing his palms into the table top, making the table shake violently. "That is not even humanly possible!" he concluded. "You did explain what happened to you in the beginning, the last time we came to visit you, but at that time, with the information you gave us, this should not happen. I want proof of this so called 'transformation,'" Izzy demanded, his fingers flexing in the air as he made quotation signs for when he said transformation. The others around him nodded their heads in agreement- this tale sounded too far fetched for them to believe.

"You think that I'm making all of this up? How long have you guys known me? And here you are, doubting my sanity!" Tai spat, crossing his arms over his chest as he remained glued to his seat. "Even my own sister!" he pointed out when he saw the dubious look on her face. Sora placed a hand on his thigh and gave a light squeeze, indicating that he should calm down. Looking around the table at Kari, Sora noticed that the brown haired girl's demeanor shifted to one that resembled embarrassment, probably for accusing her brother for his 'lies.'

"Alright, you want proof?" Tai questioned. Joe started worrying when Taichi didn't back down off of his claim of being able to transform into a digimon and admit that this was one big joke. "Then follow me," the brown haired boy said as he strode out of the room and walked into the coliseum arena. Everyone in the room followed him, if not for fear, then for sheer curiosity.

"You all may want to stand around the outer edge of the arena," Tai warned, as everyone else, digimon included, stopped at the edge of the grounds and let Taichi walk to the middle of the field. The brown haired teen stood on the dirt ground, unnaturally still for a good minute or two. "Are you guys sure you want to see this?" he asked once more. Knowing the answer to his question, he closed his eyes, and turned his back on friends.

' _Let's do this…'_ Tai thought as he let the beast inside of him take over. A small rumbling noise came from his chest, which slowly became louder over time. Feral roar ripped through his throat and vibrated off the coliseum walls as the digimon side took over. He felt the power ripple through his veins and danced over his skin. The other digidestined watched in fascination as Taichi grew taller, his height now close to, or over six and a half feet.

Tai felt his limbs stretch and elongate; he gritted his teeth together as a painful sensation enveloped his senses. After a few seconds, the pain turned into a pleasant pulling, as if his arms and legs were made out of elastic. He unconsciously flexed his fingers when an itchy feeling crawled through his hands to his fingertips; the fingernails started to grow longer and sharper, resembling a bird's talons rather than fingers. The veins in his eyes became engorged, pumping more blood through his eyeballs as the irises turned bright red- his vision increased dramatically with the change. Tai pushed his chest out and shoulder blades together, as a numbness took over his upper back. Sharp, white feathers pierced through his skin, clawing their way out of his body. The two identical slits on his upper back became more noticeable as his wings grew larger, encircling his body in a protective cocoon. The numb feeling remained until the wings had reached their full length and the penetration marks on his back had all but disappeared, leaving two faint lines.

The newly transformed Tai slowly opened his eyes to view the awaiting crowd. As he approached his friends, he could see the apprehension and shock in on their faces, his sister included. He gulped, unsure of whether to approach them or not, but he continued forward once he saw Sora's confident smile. Mimi immediately took a step back as Tai took his first step forward, her face disfigured by a look of pure terror as she let out a cry of distress. The others around her turned to look at her and Sora immediately went to comfort her friend.

"Mimi, it's okay," Sora soothed but had no avail. Mimi let out another terrified shriek as she took off in the other direction and ran out of the arena. Yolie, who was standing next to her, took off yelling 'I'll bring her back,' behind her shoulder as she chased after the pink haired girl.

Unfortunately, while the others were preoccupied with Mimi's outburst, they did not see the despair taking over Yamato's mind and body. Matt's face changed shape as he took in Tai's new form. The previous memorie of their confrontation came rushing to the forefront. His pupils dilated until all there was left were small rings of light blue around the edge of the irises. Matt started sweating and his breathing became labored as fear paralyzed his mind.

Matt took a step backwards, tripping over his own feet, landing on his backside. He didn't even notice the pain as his hand hit the ground, landing in an awkward position as his mouth gave a subconscious yelping sound. Tai's sharp ears picked up the sound of distress and focused his blood- red eyes on the blonde haired boy on the floor, his eyes curious and penetrating. He started to walk towards Matt, forgetting he was in his digimon form. Tai's hand went out to help the blonde up as he made his way across the coliseum grounds, but Matt, jumping to the conclusion that Tai was attacking him once again, gave a fearful scream as he jumped to his feet and backed away from Tai.

The digimon part of Taichi growled in annoyance. **'What is wrong with this boy?? And you call him your friend!'** he yelled out to the brown haired boy in control of him.

"Matt!" Tai called out, but even to him, his voice did not sound the same. His voice, a little deeper than usual, had sounded much harsher than intended due to the gravely undertones. At the sound of his voice, the blonde turned his fear filled eyes towards Tai and gulped. Deciding it was too much for him, Matt took off, just as Mimi had a few minutes before hand.

"Matt!" Gabumon yelled as he went after Matt a few seconds later.

"Matt! Gabumon! Wait up!" Joe yelled as he grabbed Gomamon and his shoulder bag. He turned towards the rest of the digidestined in the room and said, "I'll go after Matt. Perhaps I can find Mimi and Yolie as well." He took off after his two companions, screaming their names as he ran down the hall.

The four wayward teenagers found themselves going towards the outskirts of Piximon's home, through the barrier, and to the vast dessert that followed. From a distance, Joe spotted Yolie comforting a croutched and distraught Mimi, as Palamon and Hawkmon hovered over the two teens. From his peripheral vision, Joe saw Matt running straight ahead to where Mimi and Yolie were, so the blue haired boy decided to follow as well. He glanced back to Piximon's home, making sure he would be able to remember where the barrier was located, and then took off after Matt once again.

Joe came to a panting halt in front of the group of 3 teenagers: two of them wrapped up in their own fears, the other one trying to console them. "You guys, it's not safe out here right now; we should head back immediately," Joe pleaded as Gabumon went around to his friend's side. Just as Joe finished commenting on their situation, a shadow was cast upon them, enshrouding the four teens and their digimon in the darkness.

"Well, well, well… Look what we have here," a deep voice commented, its origin located right behind the teenagers. Yolie lifted her head up to see where the voice's origin was and gave a choked scream as her legs crumbled beneath her.

OoOoOoO

The four teens returned to Piximon's home a couple hours later, seeming more confident of their hold over their emotions than they did when they left. Flashing an apologetic glance towards Tai and the others, Joe mumbled an apology for the four of them.

"That's okay," Tai started, his hands held out in front of his body. "Don't worry about it too much. I wasn't _too_ insulted when you guys ran away from me as if you had seen a monster," he chuckled.

Sora rolled her eyes in response and nudged him out of the way. "While you guys were gone, Piximon decided that the best course of action was to start training you all, as well as the digimon," she added.

"Training? Like what are we talking about?" Izzy questioned; not particularly fond of physical exertion, he was more than eager to remain in front of his computer.

"Probably basic exercises to help us get in shape. I believe the real training is for the digimon, rather than us," Sora replied. "After all, in order for our digimon to stand a chance against the dark ones, and to last as long as they can, they have to be able to defeat them at a fairly low level."

OoOoOoO

"Dinner is ready," Piximon announced, as he flew into the upstairs hallway. (Once the digidestined went over a few basic exercises, they headed up to their respective rooms to relax before dinner.) He ushered the digidestined into the same room they were served lunch, and they sat down in their respective seats. Dinner went smoothly and the teenagers' stomachs were filled with hot bread rolls, warm pizza, and their favorite desserts. Once Davis finished licking his dessert plate clean, he leaned back in his chair and patted his full stomach, releasing a sigh of ecstasy. "Now _that_ was a meal! I should get the recipe for that apple tart!" he muttered to himself as he licked his lips.

"Davis! Don't fall asleep at the table!" Kari chastised as she nudged him with her foot from across the table. He grumbled but acquiesced anyways, sitting up straight when Veemon jumped into his lap.

"Now you don't fall asleep too, Veemon!" Davis complained as he poked at the snoring digimon on his lap a while later.

"I think we're all tired after all the commotion today," Sora started, as a few digimon came from the kitchen and cleaned up the debris off the table.

Piximon took that opportunity to fly over and happened to land on the tabletop right in front of Mimi. She cooed over him for a few seconds and then scooped him up into her cupped hands as he started to speak. "Hey! Put me down!" he commanded to no avail. Sighing, he added onto Sora's previous comment, "You guys can retire for the night, and tomorrow morning we shall start the training regime." Davis and a few other digidestined nodded, only half awake after such a filling meal and attempted to rise up from their seats.

"Then I bid you all a good night, and will wake you up in the morning," Piximon addressed and then tried to fly out of Mimi's clutches. Finding himself trapped between the palms of a very energetic teenager, Piximon quickly deciding that he must make a hasty escape before he got into a mucky situation, swished his staff around in the air creating a bubble around himself. The bubble slowly expanded, pushing the pink-haired teenager's hands away from his body, and he took that rare opportunity to slip between her fingers and out of the room as fast as he could. Before she knew it, Mimi was clutching air, wondering where the pink, furry digimon disappeared to.

Stillness took over the air as the digidestined fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts, either about the events that transpired over the day, or that will transpire in the near future. A loud bang knocked the teenagers out of their respective reveries as they looked over to the source of the noise. Tai's hand was placed flat on the table surface as he pushed his chair back, stood up erect, and stretched. "Let's get to bed; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. And trust me, you'll need as much rest as you can get before Piximon wakes you guys up tomorrow morning," he mentioned as he rolled out the cricks in his neck.

The others followed suit and followed him up the stairs, each whispering good night to the others before heading off to their respective rooms. Tai walked into his room and closed the door softly behind him. Changing quickly, he slipped into bed and pulled the covers up to his bare chest and closed his eyes. Letting his mind drift, he stumbled upon the grey area between his two personas, a thin line separating the two minds in one body. He tentatively stuck his mind's foot over the line and was met with a thin membranous screen, preventing him from entering any further. Pushing a little harder, he finally got his foot though the threshold and felt a rush of energy emanating from the digimon's mind. Gulping, he placed his foot down into the uncharted territories of his other mind and stepped over the thin, membrane-like boundary, immersing himself into his digimon side. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes and glanced around, his digimon mind appearing the same as his to the untrained eye. But he could feel the minute differences; the air was filled with a sort of uneasy tension, the floor he stood on was a little colder and harder than a pampered humans, and Tai started to realize the kind of harsh reality a digimon had to exist in.

'_It's like Darwin said, the survival of the fittest,'_ he thought as a glimpse of a shadow went by his peripheral vision. Turning his head sharply to the right, he could make out a silhouette in the dark recesses of the digimon's mind and urged his other half to come out and present himself. He now faced his counterpart- the beast the occupied his body, and would probably do so until the day he died. Tai sighed, uncertainty filling his stance, unsure if he could handle the ruthless nature of this digimon.

He glanced around at his surroundings, finally taking notice of the pictures surrounding the two of them, realizing some of them were his old memories, which were intertwined with his new memories, both as a digimon and a human. One in particular caught his eye as he was reminded of the not so pleasant emotions- jealousy, rage, anger, betrayal, frustration- that overtook him the day he found out Sora and Matt were dating. He suddenly realized that the digimon and him were not so different after all, just that the digimon side of him experienced, expressed, and understood each one of these emotions to a fuller degree than did the human psyche. '_Perhaps that is what is called the animal instinct, and unfortunately, humans have become too complex with their emotions and experiences that everything becomes a soap opera to them,'_ Tai thought as he glanced back to his digimon form in front of him.

Tai took his time, perusing through the images floating past, and he spotted a picture of Sora with the light shining off her hair in the perfect angle. He realized it was a memory made in Piximon's home as they were coming down either for training or dinner; the sun was starting to set, filling the coliseum with the softer shades of the spectrum, and this created a sort of halo around his girlfriend's form. How come he didn't seem to remember this memory? It was breath-taking, that's for sure. And since it was, he was sure to remember it, wouldn't he? Tai finally faced the digimon in front of him, _Tai's_ mind now buzzing about with a million questions.

The red eyes staring back at him grinned as if they were mocking him and his stupidity. **'You're wondering about that picture, aren't you?'** the beast asked, his lips curling back in laughter. The long canines that were revealed sunk into his lower lip as he tried to compose himself once again. Tai nodded in response, remaining quiet.

'**We are two different entities after all. Up until I took shape, I was a part of you- mind, body, and soul- the more animalistic part. As we have two different minds, we also have two different perspectives. As such, I pay more attention to my mate, as well as proximate events, and basically live life day- to- day. I also have very basic needs, desires, and emotions- not too complex- and that's what keeps my mind simple and uncomplicated. I see what I want and need, and obtain it; it's that simple.'** The beast nodded his head to emphasize the point. '**We are the same, except when our minds are merged, we- **_**you-**_** can experience the same thing from two different perspectives, be able to pay attention to multiple things at once, more than even an exemplary human can, and have the instincts of an animal/ digimon, while in your human form. And of course, be able to change into your digimon form whenever the circumstance deems it necessary.'**

"But you are still looking through one pair of eyes; it's not like I have another pair of eyes on the back of my head. So why did I not commit that image to my memory?"

"**The human mind is a filter and only focuses on what it wants to focus on. Perhaps you were preoccupied at that time, or in a sleepy haze. However, anything and everything the human mind does not think is a threat, I scrutinize, taking in every detail that you perhaps missed."**

Tai nodded, absorbing all of this information. "Basically, your saying once we are merged as one, I will still be me, but with extra abilities in my human or digimon forms." His counterpart nodded. "But I think I'll kind of miss your voice in my head, chastising me over stupid stuff," the brown haired boy admitted sheepishly. The beast let out a throaty laugh as he said, **'that's what your mate is for! Of course I'll still be here, I'm a part of your mind; you just have to accept me just like you would any other situation or event in your life, whether it may be good or bad, and that takes time.'**

Tai could feel the digimon's voice in his head slowly fading and he wondered what was going on. Attempting to take a step towards the beast, he found himself thrust back into his mind and an unnatural calm took over. All thoughts seemed to be forgotten as soon as he came back to the forefront of his mind, and a caressing hand of darkness enveloped him, allowing for a restful sleep until morning.


End file.
